Conserving Water In The Home
In the Kitchen
EM 8356-e
Revised August 1992
C.A. Raab and M.A. Sward
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Food preparation
Large quantities of water are often used during the initial
preparation of food and for the cleanup. To conserve water, keep
these tips in mind:
- Wash raw fruits and vegetables in a bowl or pan of water
rather than under running water. The water can be reused to rinse
dirty dishes before washing them.
- Allow enough time to defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator
rather than under running water.
- Remove ice cube trays a few minutes before you need
them, to loosen them at room temperature instead of under the
faucet.
- Keep a covered container of drinking water in the refrigerator
instead of running the faucet for cool water. Shake the container
before serving to incorporate air in water and eliminate "flat"
taste.
- Serve drinking water only if people request it.
Water use can be minimized also during other food preparation
steps, although the savings will not be as significant. Keep
these points in mind:
- Use a minimum amount of water for cooking foods such
as frozen vegetables and stews. This will maximize nutritional
value as well as save water.
- Cook foods over low heat in covered pans to decrease
the rate of moisture loss.
- Cover or wrap foods in aluminum foil during baking to
minimize the evaporation of liquid.
- Save leftover vegetable juices for soups, cooking raw
or frozen vegetables and stews, and for making gravy. Use leftover
fruit juices for drinking and for making gelatin salads.
- Minimize the number of cooking utensils and dishes used
to cut down on water needed for dishwashing.
Note
Water should not be conserved at the expense of cleanliness.
Before preparing food, it is important to wash hands, clean cutting
boards and work surfaces, and wash cooking utensils and dishes.
Dish washing
- Wash dishes in a pan of hot, soapy water and rinse in
a second pan of hot water rather than under running water.
- When waiting for tap water to warm, collect cold water
for future use. Use a container with a spigot for short-term
storage.
- Scrape dishes but don't rinse before loading in your
washer, especially when you'll run the washer within a few hours.
If rinsing is necessary, catch water in the sink and rinse with
it rather than under the running faucet.
- Run only full dishwasher loads.
A relatively small volume of water completes a cycle
in dishwashers. Most dishwashers fill with 2 or 3 gallons of
water during each cycle. Depending on the cycle you select for
washing or rinsing, the dishwasher fills and drains 4 or 5 times
using from 12 to 16 gallons of water during the complete cycle
time. This amount of water is continually recirculated through
the spray-wash arms and filter system of the appliance to clean
the dishes.
Many people find that one running does the day's dishes.
This means dirty dishes, glasses, snack plates, pots and pans,
and preparation utensils can be put into the dishwasher until
there are enough accumulated for a full load.
This reduces the use of water, since less is used to
run the dishwasher once a day than would be needed when clutter
is washed by hand frequently throughout the day, usually under
constantly running water. Many people use more than 15 gallons
of water in hand washing dishes for just one meal!
It takes just as much water to run the washer empty as
full. Good machine loading practices assure proper circulation
of spray for effective cleaning. Look for loading instructions
in the use and care manual for your particular model. Improper
loading and overloading can cause poor cleaning, and dishes may
have to be rewashed--which uses more human energy as well as
electrical energy and water.
One portion of the dishwashing task that can be eliminated
is the pre-rinse of dishes before loading the machine if you
run the dishwasher through a full cycle (a short, water-conserving
cycle does not remove food left on dishes). Also, as long as
you plan to run the dishwasher relatively soon after loading,
you don't have to wash the dishes first. With continued mechanical
improvements in machines and technological improvements in detergents,
less and less preparation is needed, saving you the extra work
and using less water and power to get the job done.
Waste disposal
If you own a waste food disposer, become conscious of
the times you run it. Cold water is used in operating a disposer
so that fat particles solidify and are chopped and flushed into
the sewer system. It is estimated that under normal conditions,
the average person uses 1.5 gallons of water per day to operate
a disposer.
Remember that waste food disposers are made to operate
with the water running. Operating the machine without running
water will ruin it. If you are serious about not using water,
then dispose of food wastes by other means. Careful planning
can help eliminate some of the waste from the start.
One way to simplify cleanup is to peel vegetables, eggs,
or other food onto newspaper, wrap the paper around the food
waste, and then dispose of the package in the garbage container.
This saves you from scraping peelings out of the sink or off
the counter after the preparation job is done. It will save water
because you don't have to operate the disposer. This might be
a good time to consider starting a compost pile if you have available
outdoor space.
Water storage
As an emergency measure, store drinking water for short
periods of time. Clean plastic and glass jugs with tight-fitting
lids or stoppers are good storage containers. Fruit jars, quart
jars, and picnic vacuum jugs are also adequate.
All water stored for later use should be purified first
as follows:
Boiling. Boil vigorously for 1 to 3
minutes to destroy bacteria that might be present. Before drinking,
pour the boiled water from one clean container to another several
times to improve the taste.
Bleach method. Any household bleach
solution that contains hypochlorite, a chlorine compound, as
its only active ingredient will purify water easily and inexpensively.
Bleach solutions with 5.25% of sodium hypochlorite are available
in grocery stores.
Add bleach solution to water in any clean container in
which it can be thoroughly mixed by stirring or shaking. The
following table shows the proper amount to add.
Water purification by bleach method
Amount of solution to add to:
| Amount of water |
Clear water |
Cloudy water |
| 1 quart |
2 drops |
4 drops |
| 1 gallon |
8 drops |
16 drops |
| 5 gallons |
1/2 tsp |
1 tsp |
|
Add bleach solution to water and stir, then let the mixture
stand for 30 minutes. After this, the water should still have
a distinct taste or smell of chlorine. If this taste or smell
is not present, add another dose of solution to the water and
let the water stand another 15 minutes. Taste or smell of chlorine
in the treated water is a sign of safety.
Prepared by Carolyn
A. Raab, Extension foods and nutrion specialist and Mary Ann
Sward, Extension housing specialist, Oregon State University.
Revised August 1992.
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