Do You Have A Garden? Here Are A Few Insights On Kitchen Wastewater

The recent time is all about sustainable solutions and living to reduce the pressure from natural resources that are fast depleting because of the constant abuse. If you love nature and your environment, you would swear by paths that call for responsible use of everything, food, water, etc. When you talk about this, you can immediately connect to the thought of water conservation. It can be a great endeavor to save and reuse water from the kitchen. But you may wonder where and how. Let’s get into them quickly.

• Using wastewater from the kitchen

If you are not aware, some people use runoff from their kitchen for gardening; you can also find several ways to ensure that not a single drop goes to waste. It needs planning, which starts with observing your kitchen habits. You have to determine where in the kitchen you use the most water. You also have to figure out the length of the time you spend here. To make it simple, you have to see what appliances you use and how much.

Do you have a dishwasher, for example? If you do it manually, you will need running water or a basin filled with water. Whether it is a Kraus USA Kitchen sink or something else, you have to see where the drain system releases this water. Either it can happen through the main drain pipe or a separate outlet. It would help if you found this. Besides, you have to check what you do with the old water in the bottles you filled or cleaned veggies and fruits.

All the daily rituals signal how lavish you tend to be with your water usage. Although it is not wrong, there are alternatives to be mindful of how you use the precious natural reserves that humans have. To be precise, you can save water with little effort. Here are some suggestions in this context.

• Bottled water

Most people throw away the remaining water from the bottle when they have to refill it. It can be filtered water or mineral water. Instead of draining it, you can store the water in a tub or bucket and use it to water a few plants in your bedroom or kitchen. Emptying water into pots doesn’t take much time also. If you have an extra pipe on the windows, you can send the collected water through it to irrigate the garden. Of course, the last alternative will be relevant based on the amount of water you stored and your garden’s size.

• Pasta and rice water

Pasta and rice contain starch, which gets transferred to the water you use for boiling them. But most people treat this water as waste and spill it. Only a few use it to add flavor to the sauce. Again, the quantity used for this purpose tends to be negligible. Plants also need starch. If you keep this starchy water, you can add it to your compost pit. The nutrients from the starch will reach plants and help them grow. If it sounds too much, you can directly pour it into the plant’s soil. Through this single activity, you can achieve two things: water-saving and plant nourishment.

• Fruits and vegetables

Of all the tasks you do in your kitchen, you would realize that the maximum amount of water goes into washing fruits and vegetables. It is unavoidable also because eating fruits or veggies without cleaning them can be risky for health. Still, how do you wash them? Like others, you can clean them in running water at once. But if you don’t know, it wastes a lot of water as you have to clean them at least for five minutes.

You can stop wastage in this case also if you wish. Dunk all fruits and vegetables in a bowl full of water and rinse. Since one or two containers cannot seem enough, you would want to replace them a few more times. Instead of throwing it, you can use the water in your plants.

There is one more method also if you don’t mind spending a bit of time. For example, you can sort out fresh produce based on what needs deep cleaning and a quick rinse. You can fill your sink for those items that don’t contain too much dirt and get cleansed fast. For others, you would need tubs or containers, which you will want to refill. In the end, all the water that you used can go into your garden.

• Utensils

Another activity where water consumption can be high in the kitchen is utensil cleaning. Whether you use a dishwasher or do it manually in the sink, you will spend a lot of water on scrubbing and washing dishes. Some people rinse them even before using them, which again leads to more wastage of water. To save it, you can follow the same method as recommended earlier. Collect water and give it to your plants. Do you worry about the content of soap in the water? If you use typical dishwashing solutions, you cannot do much because it can harm the soil quality.

As an alternative, you can pick environment-friendly liquid soaps that will not cause any damage to your garden, even with their presence in the wastewater. To make sure it is safe to use, you need to read the product label well, though.

These are a few quick and straightforward techniques that you can adopt in your kitchen to save water and avoid waste by keeping it for a better thing, such as your garden or plants. Some people recycle also. But if you don’t have enough time and energy, you can begin with these small steps. Once it develops into a habit, you can take your water conservation efforts to the next level. So, if you never thought about doing something like this, it’s time to explore and give these sustainable choices a try. Nature will thank you, and there will be much less damage on the planet caused by climate change or pollution.