The sprinkler doesn't have to run every day. Watering the lawn less often doesn't only help to save water but the grass will benefit too. — Photos: dpa
MOST of of us are aware of the need to save water, and many know a few ways to reduce their use. Turning off the shower while you soap yourself, not running the washing machine half full, and watering the garden with collected rainwater are all widely known water-saving solutions – here are some other ways we can use water more efficiently in everyday life
Don’t pour cooking water down the drain
The cooking water from pasta, potatoes or vegetables does not necessarily have to go to waste. “Pasta water is great for thickening sauces or soups,” says Daniela Krehl, an expert advisor at a German consumer advice centre. The starch in the water can help make Bolognese or vegetable soups extra creamy, she says.
However, the expert cautions against storing pasta water for too long as it contains a lot of starch and will go mouldy “very quickly.” Krehl suggests using it directly for the pasta sauce or to store it in the fridge for a maximum of 24 hours.
If you make bread dough in this time frame, you can replace part of the liquid in the recipe with pasta water. According to the German Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE), this makes the bread nice and fluffy.
Krehl advises against using pasta water for cleaning – a tip often circulating on social media. “I suspect it would cause smears, and bacteria can accumulate in it,” she says.
However, if you have fresh, hot pasta water on hand, you can make washing the dishes a little easier, the BZfE says. If you use it immediately to soak dirty dishes before washing them, the starch helps to loosen even stubborn stains.
Don’t be tempted to use the pasta liquid for cut or potted flowers, though, as there is a risk that the starch will start to go mouldy, Krehl warns.
Cooking water from potatoes and vegetables, on the other hand, contains less starch than pasta water – and can therefore be used to water plants. However, if you have salted the water generously, you should only water with it in moderation. “Some plants may react badly to salted water and will die if the soil contains too much sodium,” says Krehl.
The leftover water from the kettle – cooled, of course – is also suitable for watering flowers.
Pasta water should not be carelessly poured down the drain after cooking: The starch it contains makes for a valuable cooking aid.
Keep a bucket handy in the shower
”This is a trick for the pros – for those who have already followed all other tips and are looking to save even more water,” says Krehl.
Use the bucket to collect the cold, clear water that flows immediately after you turn the water on, before it reaches the right temperature for your shower. This water is suitable for use in the garden.
You can also let shower water with shampoo and soap residues splash into a bucket and continue to use it. Don’t give the soapy water to your plants, says Krehl, “but it is suitable for putting in with heavily soiled laundry, or for cleaning shoes that got dirty on a walk”. It can also be used to scrub floors.
Water the lawn less often, but more efficiently
If you have a garden, avoid the temptation to run the sprinkler every day in summer. “It is absolutely wrong to give the lawn a little water every day,” says Harald Nonn, chairman of the German Lawn Society.
That’s because sprinklers will only moisten the top few centimetres of the soil, encouraging the roots to migrate upwards from the depths. Over time that makes the plants become even more sensitive to drought than when their roots are deep down.
Instead, you should water “relatively infrequently” but ”sufficiently” to saturate the deeper roots, says Nonn.
But what does sufficient mean? “Sandy soils store around 15 litres of water per square metre in the main root zone, which is about 10 to 15cm for lawns,” explains Nonn. “For a classic lawn size of 200 sqm, we’re talking about a water requirement of 3 cubic metres, or 3,000 litres.”
”Depending on the weather, daily temperature and evaporation, this is enough for three, four or five days, but may last for two days in very hot weather,” says Nonn. – dpa/Ricarda Dieckmann
