Cleaning is one of those household activities that we overlook when it comes to our water usage. We’re so focused on spending less time in the shower in order to save water and money, we forget that cleaning the shower is also a weekly task that increases our water consumption. It might not seem like much but ask yourself this. Are you using the showerhead to rinse your bath after cleaning the bathroom? It only takes a minute. Also known as 12 litres of water. So are you tarnishing your water-saving efforts by cleaning with excess water? You’ll love this blog – it’s got great tips, products and water-saving devices that you can use to save water at home.
1. Your showerhead is not for cleaning the bathroom
It’s so tempting to reach for the showerhead when rinsing your bath. We know, we used to be one of those people to do it. We’d even use the hot tap. Not only was this adding money onto our water bill, but also our energy bill as our systems worked to heat up the water we wanted to use – for cleaning!
So, we decided to ban ourselves from it and multiply the cleaning cloths we used. One for the scrubbing and another for the light rinsing afterwards and drying afterwards. Really, it’s turned out to be less work than rinsing and drying using the shower head.
2. Don’t run the tap to dampen your cloth
We see it far too often. Putting a cloth under the tap in order to dampen it. The worst part is how we ring it out afterwards, essentially wasting all the water. If you have to have a damp cloth, turn your tap very slowly. So you’re making the cloth damp rather than soaking it and ringing it out. However, we personally don’t think you need a damp cloth.
Using cleaning products that spray directly onto a surface or onto the cloth means that there is never the need for a damp cloth. In fact, there is never any need for water when cleaning if you’re using liquid solutions. You might be asking yourself why you’re trying to save less than a litre of water, but it all adds up. Small actions like this are the foundations for saving water.
3. Use plastic-free cleaners in your bathroom
We mentioned using ready-made liquid cleaners in order to save water. But what about using plastic-free cleaners? There are plenty of options out there and we love them! We’ve done a fair amount of research into this one, but one of our biggest deciding factors here was the affordability and success of the product – for that, we found Ekologik came out on top.
Grab any old cleaning bottle, rinse it out thoroughly then create your own cleaning solution using their dissolving droplets. This way, you don’t need water to clean as the cleaning solution does the job for you but you’re also not creating any more plastic waste. Plus, when you buy traditional cleaning products, they’re 90% water and 10% solutions – here you buy 100% of the stuff you need. Alternatively, make your own!
4. Never mop the floor
Depending on how big your bathroom is you might be tempted to get out the mop bucket for your floor. But it’s such a waste! Even if you end up mopping the entire house with one bucket, you still pour all the water away. What’s even worse – some people pour it away outside on their garden/driveway. Total waste!
While the traditional mop may still be useful, the bucket is not. You can buy floor cleaner already diluted and in a spray bottle – ideal for the bathroom. Start treating your floors like you do your wall tiles or bathtub. A few sprays, a scrub with a cloth or a mop, and you’re done. Take a quick look… have we used any water at all to clean the bathroom so far? Nope! And it’s going to stay that way.
5. Ban yourself from flushing cleaners
We know that our toilets use a minimum of 6 litres per flush. So when you’re scrubbing it, consider whether you need to flush it right away or not. We know that most toilet cleaners will tell you to flush. But if you opt for some eco-friendly ones, you can allow the cleaning chemical to sit for a while – some even suggest leaving them overnight.
If you’re in a house with kids, how long is it before someone uses the toilet after you’ve cleaned it? We bet it isn’t long. So don’t flush the chemicals, wait for the toilet to be used then they can flush without wasting another 6 litres.
Really… we should rename this blog to ‘how to clean your bathroom without using any water’ because you don’t need water to clean a bathroom. But we understand that that is probably a step too far out of the comfort zone for many. This is why we provide five tips. Five ideas to inspire you, all you need to do it pick one and keep doing it until it becomes an instinct. Then, work on the next work. Slowly but surely, you’ll be able to clean your bathroom without water.
One Response
Learnet on cleanincsg without plastics. I was aware of some but not all