Water: Top tips for capturing and recycling water at home

The surface of Earth is approximately 70% water, but despite this, around 2.7 billion people live in water scarcity for some months per year. With experts suggesting this will only rise and become more of an issue by 2025, it’s important that we all take action and do what we can to be more mindful of our water consumption.

As well as installing low-flow taps and shower heads in our homes, we can make sure that we’re getting maximum use from the water that does come out of the tap. Plus, we can capture the rain in our gardens or on balconies and put it to good use. In this post, we show you how.

Reuse cooking water

If you’re someone who regularly boils or steams vegetables, that water can act as a nutritious drink for your plants. The same goes for pasta water. Whilst you might think this will harm your greenery, some experts suggest that the opposite is true, claiming that the starch and nutrients in the water gives plants a boost and helps keep them healthy – an unexpected benefit.

Install waterbutts in the garden

If you’ve got outdoor space, then make the most of the natural water falling from the sky and harvest it for drier spells. Not only can rainwater be used to water your garden, but it can also be used for tasks such as washing your car, or filling up your pet’s water bowls. With the average garden hose dispensing between 9 and 17 gallons of water per minute, even a quick water of the flowerbeds soon adds up. Using rainwater means you can avoid turning the tap on as much as possible.

Capture the shower water before you get in

When you run the shower, you probably wait for it to get up to temperature before you get in, unless you like to wake up with a cold start to the day. As a result, a fair amount of clean water goes straight back down the drain. 

Instead of letting this water go to waste, why not place a bucket in the shower cubicle to capture the water before it gets warm enough? You can then use this to water your plants.

Consider a greywater system

If you really want to invest in capturing and recycling water at home, then you may want to consider installing a greywater system. This is where the water from your bathroom hand basin, shower and bath is collected after it’s gone down the drain. It’s then stored in a tank either under or above ground at your property, before being disinfected and made available for reuse. But why should you bother? 

If you consider how much water is used when you simply wash your hands, for example, it makes sense to capture this and repurpose it. It’s not ‘dirty’ – whilst you wouldn’t drink it, it’s perfectly safe to use for filling toilets, washing your car or watering the garden. Capturing and filtering this water at home means you can avoid the large energy costs associated with sending water through a commercial treatment facility, so you’re truly doing your bit for the planet.

Do your bit

If we all take care to reduce our water use and reuse it wherever possible, we can ensure that we’re not letting this valuable resource go to waste. Especially with the effects of climate change causing hotter weather, it’s more important than ever to collectively help ensure that everyone worldwide gets access to water.

The Sustain Chain Awards 2024