Ideas for Kids to Help with Conserving Water at Home
Fresh, drinkable water is a limited resource that is necessary to our survival. More than 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and must be treated before we can use it in everyday life to cook, clean, and consume. The remaining percentage of water that is fresh and useable to humans is mostly frozen or stored underground as ground water. For these reasons and many more, it is important to do your part in conserving water at home. Discover how you can use water more efficiently and preserve the limited stock of water that we have on Earth with these simple ideas and tips!
So what does “conserve” actually mean? Here’s the easy way to explain it to your kids: “to protect or save something from being hurt or never ever coming back. When we think about conserving water conserving water and other natural resources, we need to consider the ways in which we are using it, and how our other day-to-day actions have a direct effect on water.
Tell your children that every little effort to save water can go a long way. Most things we do or not do are ways to help the planet. For example, say you are standing by a lake enjoying a can of soda. When you are done with the soda, you toss the can into the lake. While you are not using the water directly, you are still damaging the water by polluting it, and therefore not doing your part to conserve the water!
Conserving water is easy to do. Start by thinking about the ways you use water every day. You drink water. You use water to clean dishes, brush your teeth, and wash your body. By evaluating all of the ways in which you use water, you can then start to think about ways you can conserve that water.
Think about when you brush your teeth in the morning. You may leave the water running to periodically rinse your toothbrush. By turning the water off while you brush and only turning it back on when you are going to use it, you will help to conserve water! Another way you can conserve water is by taking notice of how long your showers are. By shortening your shower by one or two minutes every day, you can conserve hundreds of gallons a year! In a similar way, you use water to clean other things around your house besides yourself, like your dishes. Instead of getting a fresh glass every time you want a drink, use the same glass throughout the day. If you wash your dishes in the sink, when it comes time to wash, fill a small bucket in the sink with soapy water and use that to wash dishes instead of running a constant stream of water. If you are using a dishwasher to clean your dishes, make sure it is full to capacity before you run it. Another way to conserve water is to find ways to recycle water that is already in use. For example, if you have a pet, use their old water to freshen pots of plants before you re-fill the bowl with new water for your pet to drink. You may be the first one to notice the problem, and telling an adult as soon as you recognize an issue can help to have it resolved more quickly
Slow the Faucet Flow:
- Instead of leaving water running the whole time you brush your teeth, just turn the faucet on to get your toothbrush and toothpaste wet, and then again at the end when rinsing
- Do the same when you wash your hands. There’s no need for the water to run while you’re lathering up, so just turn water on for wetting and rinsing. And remember to shut the water off completely when you’re done.
- Where the water comes out of a faucet is a little part called an aerator, which screws on to the end of the faucet. Without an aerator, the water doesn’t come out in a useful way and the faucet will use way more water to do the same tasks. If an aerator is missing, ask parents to add one.
- Some aerators also use less water than others, so adding or replacing one with a low flow model is an easy and low cost way to save water. For example, look for a one gallon per minute aerator for bathroom faucets, but select one with a little more flow (1½ to 2 gallons per minute) for the kitchen sink.
- Encourage these same actions at school, where faucets are used hundreds of times each day. Just adding or replacing restroom faucet aerators with ½ gallon per minute models could save thousands of gallons of water each month
Satisfying Showers and Baths:
- Turn water down while soaping up or lathering your hair, and turn it back up for rinsing.
- Let parents know that new shower heads can give a great shower while using about a third as much water. Pick one with a WaterSense label as they give extra savings and work great.
- Baths use a lot of water. A five minute shower with a new shower head can use about one fourth as much water. So consider taking quick showers most of the time instead of baths.
Teaching our kids at a young age to be aware of environmental factors that effect our life is very important. We have to grow and plant little seeds in our children that will stick with them throughout their life. Plant good seeds of course to let them grown in tall and intelligent Oaks! Slowly but surely you will see the things you taught them reflect in their adult lives. If you have any questions or concerns we’re always here to help!
Anonymous
Greta tips.Thank you so much for sharing these tips.
Conserv-A-Store
Thanks Roger, we try to give information that helps any age group. Gotta teach em while they are young!