You have been hearing quite often that water resources are shrinking? Have you been wondering how to prevent it? Use recycled water! By installing a special device you can collect water from bathtubs, shower trays or wash basins to generate the so-called “grey water”. How? The system collects wastewater from the whole house and passes it through a system of natural sand, gravel or biological filters. Thus treated water is stored in tanks and can be reused for cleaning, toilet flushing, car washing, sidewalk washing, etc.

Collecting rainwater is yet another method of water recovery. It can be done in different ways. The simplest way is to collect water in an open tank placed on the balcony or in the garden when it rains. It requires no technology, however, you have to keep in mind that your water tank has a limited capacity. Nonetheless it will definitely collect enough rainwater to water flowers at home or in the garden.

A somewhat more technologically sophisticated method is to collect a greater volume of water in special tanks and then extract the water thanks to a special system. This solution is often sufficient to cover the entire demand for water to be used for laundry, toilet flushing, cleaning floors, stairs and sidewalks, watering the garden and washing the car. The rainwater is not suitable only for drinking and bathing purposes. The investment in the system pays back after a few years, but given the shrinking resources and rising prices… perhaps it’s worth it?

Run a little test! Adjust some of your petty habits and experience the change in your household. Will your bills get smaller? Will your appliances work better? Minor changes in your life mean a great change for the natural environment. Start with some rules that will help you save energy:

1. Refrigerator is the household appliance that uses the most energy. When you put warm food into your fridge, the amount of energy consumed is even higher! Don’t do it. Colling down the food before putting it in the fridge will not only lower your electricity bills, but will also reduce the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
2. Do you use an electric hob/oven? It’s the second most power consuming appliance in your home. When you need boiling water, boil it in an electric kettle, not on the hob. When boiling water for tea, pour as much water as you need, not a full kettle.
3. How often do you remove your charger from the outlet? Never? So now you know why your electricity bills are never low. Chargers consume electricity not only when they are connected to a phone or a computer.
4. Reduce the wash temperature in your washing machine. Did you notice that some of the wash programmes automatically run at high temperatures? You can change that manually. Take care to always run the washing machine at full load!
5. Did you ever wonder about the sequence in which you iron your clothes? Did you know it’s worth a thought? The iron consumes more energy if it does not heat up gradually. Therefore, always start with thinner fabrics that do not require high ironing temperature.