Saving Money and Water with Rain Barrels
Saving money and saving the environment is always a good notion. Conserving water with rain barrels is one of those win-win good notions that will save money as well as the environment.
Rain barrels are a great way to collect and store rain runoff from your roof that would otherwise be lost to runoff and diverted to storm drains, streams, rivers, etc… Water captured in rain barrels is a free source of water for watering gardens and lawns and of course has the added advantage of helping the environment.
The model behind the use of rain barrels is quite simple, the more water we are able to conserve the more money we save from municipal water and sewer charges while helping save the environment by not using treated water for our lawns, gardens or other outside uses.
Utilizing the natural water which is free of chemicals such as fluoride, chlorine and other additives found in our household water saves the environment from the treated water and the treatment process and is also healthier for plants and gardens. By collecting rainwater, you can reduce the load on your local water treatment facilities.
Use of rain barrels utilizes a natural process that reduces the burden on our existing infrastructure. Using rain water will reduce your water bill whether you have a municipal water supply that charges by the gallon used or a well that has a pump needed to draw the water. In addition, a number of municipalities have separate sewer charges that are based on the amount of water consumed. For homeowners that have sump pumps in their basement, the rain barrel has another plus since they are collecting water that would normally seep into the ground next to the foundation.
Rain barrels are generally inexpensive and are practical way to save money. Reducing environmental impact is just an added bonus.
Rain barrels can be purchased from many garden catalogs or you can make your own following directions found on a number of web sites. Rain barrels operate pretty much trouble free.
Whether you construct your own rain barrel or you purchase one, make sure it is securely covered, securely set and accessible for cleaning. Most all rain barrels can sit conveniently under any residential gutter down spout. The rain barrels should be installed at or near ground level, on a level surface to prevent tipping when the barrel is full. Don’t position the rain barrel near stairs or structures that would pose a danger for the area.
Make sure the rain barrel has a screen for water collection and the barrel should be slightly elevated off the ground to allow gravity feed when it is in use. The water should be used or drained regularly to reduce the risk of mosquitoes or contamination.
Rain barrels are becoming very popular in rural and urban areas mostly for environmental reasons but the costs savings these products bring should make them even more widely adopted by those who like cheap home living.
Natural Home Cleaners, Safe and Less Expensive
Becoming a green consumer has been a growing trend over the past few years. Fortunately for those who also enjoy cheap home living, going green and saving money can go hand in hand. One such aspect of home life that can be green and inexpensive is household cleaning products.
Many consumers are trying to help the environment by buying eco-friendly cleaners at the local home improvement store or super market. These household cleaners are generally made with a greater concentration of natural, nontoxic, and biodegradable ingredients. Sales of these natural cleaning products have rapidly rising sales year to year. Unfortunately, these products are unregulated which means their true environmentally friendly value is hard to assess and they are costly.
The best solution to go green with cleaning supplies and save money is to revert back the natural ingredients and make your own cleaning supplies. You will find that even the dirtiest of cleaning tasks can be handled effectively with just baking soda, vinegar, borax, lemon juice and more. The ingredients are far cheaper than premixed or manufactured compounds and they save money and help the environment with a far greater impact.
For many home cleaning tasks, natural cleaners can be made right at home with these easy to find natural ingredients. You can make your own cleaning products right at home on the cheap. And while you will spend a lot less money to make these cleaning supplies you also reduce the waste that is an inherent part of prepackaged goods.
Non toxic and environmentally friendly cleaning compounds are good for the overall health of the environment and are also safer to use in the home. But be somewhat cautious about these ingredients, just because they are natural that does not mean it is automatically safe to use everywhere and on any item or service.
The following is a list of common basic ingredients for making cleaning supplies at home.
Baking Soda – Baking soda has been using as cleaning agent for years. It cleans, absorbs odors and deodorizes, softens water which helps cleaning and is good for scouring. Baking soda is a naturally occurring material but is also produced artificially. It has a slightly alkaline and resembles washing soda. It is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and safe for nearly all surfaces, making it ideal for household use.
Borax – Borax is used for general cleaning, deodorizing, disinfecting and can be used to soften water. Borax is also known as sodium borate or sodium tetraborate and is a naturally occurring alkaline mineral. Borax is gentler than most chemical cleaning compounds and is not particularly toxic but it can cause skin reactions
White Vinegar – Common white vinegar is a versatile cleaner. It is especially useful for dissolving dirt cutting through grease, removing stains, mildew and odors. White vinegar is a mild acid, which makes it gentle enough to use in common household cleaning for most surfaces. Do not use vinegar on marble surfaces.
Washing Soda – Washing soda is good for cutting through grease, removing stains, cleaning wall, tiles, sinks and tubs it can also neutralizes odors in the same way that baking soda does. Washing soda is a crystalline form of sodium carbonate. Washing soda is chemically similar to baking soda but is more strongly alkaline. Do not use it on fiberglass or aluminum.
Lemon – Lemons and lemon juice work as a mild but effective cleaner and deodorizer. Lemons are very acidic. Lemon juice can be used to remove dirt and grime, used as degreaser, dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits as well as fight bacteria.
These basic natural cleaning compounds can be used for a variety of home cleaning tasks and can be used in combinations for more thorough cleaning. The following formulas are combinations of these ingredients to make different, inexpensive and eco-friendly home cleaning products:
General Purpose Cleaner: Start with two quarts of water and mix in 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup baking soda and a touch of lemon juice. This cleaner can be used for removal of dirt and grease, water deposit stains, cleaning bathroom fixtures, windows, mirrors and similar uses.
General Disinfectant: Start with one quart of water and mix in ¼ cup of borax and approximately 2 tablespoons of vinegar.
Drain Cleaner: Start with 2 cups of water and mix 1/4 cup baking soda and heat the mixture until warm but not boiling and pour down the drain. For added strength a 1/4 cup of vinegar can be added to the mix. After about 20 minutes, pour a quart of boiling water to clear the pipes.
Window Cleaner: Start with one quart of water and mix in 2 teaspoons of white vinegar.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Pour 1/4 cup baking soda and a ¼ cup vinegar directly into the toilet bowl and let it set for a few minutes. Clean the bowl with a standard brush or sponge and rinse.
Mold and Mildew Cleaner: Mix white vinegar or lemon juice with very little water and pour into a spray bottle to spray directly on moldy area, let it sit without rinsing. After 30 minutes it can be gently wiped to remove any residue.
These simple combinations of products from your kitchen or grocery store make effective household cleaning solutions. These natural products will not only do a great job but are more environmentally friendly than chemical alternatives. In most all of these combinations, the cleaning product is also far less expensive than the commercial products designed for the same tasks.
Save Money on Lost Water
Saving money and saving water is a win-win plan. Save yourself some money and help save the environment, tough to object to that plan. In order to save money by saving water the quick start is to find where you may have leaks in your water usage. Using less water is the goal and before you stop cleaning your dishes it is a good idea to see where the greatest amount of waste is first.
The initial action to help locate those leaks in your water usage is to review the water bill. This requires taking a good look at your water bill over several months. Look for trends and look for spikes in water use. Call your local water utility to find out what the average water usage for your area is, most municipalities have this information. Once you have reviewed any glaring problems in water use, its time to look at any areas of waste within your home.
A dripping toilet is a common water thief. One simple method to discover water dripping from the tank into the toilet bowl is to drop some food coloring in the toilet water tank and then check back in 20-30 minutes to see if any of the colored water has leaked from the tank into the toilet bowl. If the water has seeped through it times to check the seal on the base of the tank, the flappers and washers. These parts are easy to replace and relatively inexpensive items found at most all home improvement stores.
You can reduce the amount of water an older toilet uses by replacing the unit altogether. Older bathroom toilets generally use about 5 gallons of water per flush. Current toilet models use less water, toilets sold after 1994 are required to use no more than1.6 gallons per flush. Dual-flush, which operate as ultra low flow toilets can use as little as .5 gallons per flush.
And try not to use your toilet as a trash can when cleaning up little items with tissue, the extra flushes wastes water.
Keep an eye out for dripping faucets as well. Clean and dry the sink after your last use to see if any water is coming out or if the sink is wet again between uses. You can fix a dripping faucet by replacing washers which again is inexpensive and easy to accomplish.
While you are in the bathroom, it’s time to consider some tactics to limit water use. Look at limiting water use in the shower since this is generally a big water hog in the average family. Be prepared before you turn the water on to take a shower. Turn the water off while you soap up and initiate the shampoo process, turn it on again to rinse and get out.
The same process can be used when brushing your teeth. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth or when you shave. You can even turn off the faucet while you wash your hands until rinse time.
To further lower water use, check any excessive water use when doing the laundry. Cut back water usage when washing clothes by running larger loads. The average family does more than six loads of laundry per week. The number of loads can be cut back measurably by increasing the load sizes and separating laundry that has to be separated not just due to preference.
For home drinking water, keep drinking water in the refrigerator in a large container instead of letting the faucet run while you wait for cold water to flow.
To save money and curtail water use in the garden, choose garden plants that are indigenous to the area’s climate. Indigenous plants survive on the temperature and precipitation that is part of the natural environment and need less unnatural intervention including additional watering. This doesn’t mean all of these plants flourish without some additional attention but they will do better than non native species. To go the extra step you can find plants that are especially adept at managing the precipitation in your area and set up the landscaping specifically to save water.
Save some money while protecting the environment, it doesn’t get any better than that with cheap home living.