With water quickly becoming a scarce resource, we must do everything we can to conserve the little that we have. Unfortunately, most of us find it difficult to put in measures that control water wastage. Our kitchens are the main area when most of the water is wasted, with handwashing dishes leading.
Today, almost every home in Australia has a dishwasher. These machines use less water to clean dishes compared to hand washing. If you don’t have a dishwasher, you can still conserve water in your own little ways. We have rounded some of the best tips that will help you save water when hand washing dishes:
Here are the 7 tips on how to save water when washing dishes hand:
#1 - Start With Two Basins
One of the biggest reasons why a lot of water is lost when washing dishes by hand is because most of us do it when the faucet is running. To avoid such loss of water, you should have two basins sinks and fill them with water. You need to put a sink stopper to stop water from running down the drain. If you don’t have sink basins, then you should fill two pots with water. The next thing should be adding soap to the water in the basins/pots- this is the water that you will use to clean the dishes.
#2 - Use Green Detergents
Saving water should go hand in hand with environmental conservation. That is why everything that you are using for the cleaning of dished should be eco-friendly. For the detergents, there are many green options that you can pick from. Green detergents mean that they don’t have chemical ingredients that could release harmful gases into the atmosphere. So, these are types of cleansers that are safe for the cleaner and the dish users. Note that some of the chemical elements are not usually rinsed away complete by the water, and thus, they will mix with food as you eat. So there several benefits that come with going green.
#3 - Scrape Your Dishes Well
One of the biggest mistakes that most of us make when hand washing dishes is failing to scrape the dishes well. So, we throw even some bits of the leftovers into the sink. That means you will need a lot of water and detergent to clean such dishes. Therefore, you need to have your dishes well scraped before you put them into the basin sink or pots. For those looking forward to creating a sustainable home, empty the scraping into the composter. You can use the compost later as manure for your gardens.
#4 - Soak Dishes
After scraping dishes, the next thing should be soaking them in the first basin skin or pot for a couple of minutes. Soaking helps to soak stubborn stains on the dishes so that their removed is easy. Second, less detergent will be needed to clean off soaked dishes. That means less destruction to the environment. Third, you will need less water to clean soaked dishes, and lastly, it will take you less time. So there numerous benefits that come with soaking dishes for a while.
#5 - Move The Dishes to The Second Basin
After removing stubborn stains and other food particles, then you can move the dishes into the second basin sink or pot. It is where to do a thorough cleaning of the dishes and ensure that they are sparkling clean. Up to this point, it is essential to note that we have been using the same water we collected from the beginning. So, we have been able to save a lot of water so far.
#6 - Rinse Soapy Dishes
Now it’s time to rinse soapy dishes from the second basin sink. To avoid water wastage, use a very thin stream of cold water. The stream should not be wider than your thumb. The importance of using running water for the rinsing of dishes is to ensure that you are cleaning off soap suds from the plate. The thin stream of water ensures that you are using the minimum amount of water.
#7 - Water Your Plants With The Grey Water
After finishing with the dish cleaning, the greywater in the pots should be used for watering your plants. The fact that you used green detergent means that there are no harsh chemicals to damage your plants. In addition, this water also very rich in nutrients compared to the water from the tap. The water has a lot of organic compounds from the food, which will decompose to form manure.
If you want to have fun hand washing dishes and still save water, these are some of the best tips you should use. They will help you reduce water wastage by more than 70% when washing dishes. They are fun, practical, and easy to follow.