HOMES: 7 clever ways to save/re-use household water in your garden
As water restrictions continue around South Africa, gardens are drying out and homeowners need to be smart.
As water restrictions continue around South Africa, gardens are drying out and homeowners need to be smart about collecting and reusing every drop of water.
Below are seven useful water-saving tips for your home and garden:
- Hot water always takes a bit of time to get from the geyser to your tap. Don’t let this water go to waste – use a smaller bucket to catch this cold water. You can then use it to water your plants, lawn or flower pots.
- Shower with a plastic basin to catch the water as you shower. Once you are done, you can reuse the water in the garden.
- Backwashing your pool wastes a ton of water. A rudimentary tank with a tap can save 90% of this water. The backwashed water goes into the tank where it will sit and let the dirt flocculate for a few days. The water is then piped back into the pool using a pump or gravity.
The dirty water at the bottom of the tank is then thrown out every so often.
Although this is not a pretty setup, it can be hidden.
- Save pool water by employing a pool blanket. This can be done by a professional who will come out to your home and measure the pool.
There are various pool blanket options including roll up systems or blankets that allow you to simply lay the cover on the side of the pool when you want to swim.
This type of cover floats on the surface of the pool so it is not a safety cover for toddlers, however, it complies with the regulations regarding filling your pool.
- Install greywater systems. It is not always easy to retrofit a greywater system but wherever this is possible, it should be done. This is free water that gets thrown away every day that could be piped into your garden or onto your lawn.
- Homeowners can also drill for boreholes and wellpoints on their properties.
- Attend to leaks as soon as possible. To determine if there is a leak somewhere, turn off all the taps on your property and examine the water meter. Leaks can cost you thousands of rands over time.
If the meter is still turning, this means that there is a leak somewhere which needs to be attended to immediately.
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