No second wash at the hairdresser and the other rules to save water

To read it superficially, the news can make you smile: the mayor of Castenaso, in the province of Bologna, prohibits the second washing of hair to hairdressers and barbers. Perhaps it is the most original, but not the only and not the least useful, to save water in this summer of drought. “A tap left open delivers an average of 13 liters per minute” is written in the vademecum that accompanies the ordinance of Castenaso, but also those of many other municipalities.

Mayor Carlo Gubellini explained to Corriere della Sera: «The classic two rinses exceed at least 20 liters. In the situation in which we find ourselves we can no longer afford it ». We can’t afford water for water the gardens, we have none for agriculture, not for swimming pools, not for washing cars. And so on.

The choice of many municipalities is to rationalize the use of water and ration it without interrupting the activities. There are ordinances which run until 31 August, others until 30 September. Many are giving advice on how not to waste water.

The municipality of Bologna presented a Decalogue saving water which also applies to others:
Check the functioning of the water systems to identify any hidden leaks;
Use water-saving devices, such as jet breakers for taps;
Water plants with drip and timed irrigation systems;
Implement simple rainwater collection systems for garden irrigation;
Always use washing machines and dishwashers with full loads: savings are between 8 thousand and 11 thousand liters per year;
Better a shower than a bath: 60 liters of water for a 5-minute shower, double for the bath;
Do not let the sink water run continuously;
Do not use running water for washing dishes and vegetables, only for rinsing;
Use the fruit and vegetable wash water to water the plants
Carry out all non-domestic uses of the water between 9 pm and 8 am. \

These are the tips that also come from Other consumption. Tap water should be preferred because bottled water consumes 3500 times more natural resources. The advice is to apply aerators to taps to mix air to water by reducing flow and splashes to save tens of thousands of liters per year. They cost from 1 to 2 euros each.

It always has to avoid letting the tap water run when it is not necessary: ​​when soaping, when brushing your teeth. You need to pay attention to losses: a drop that falls from the tap makes about 1,750 liters of water in a month. In the case of the toilet, the flow of water leads to waste about a thousand liters a week. The button to stop the flow of the toilet allows you to avoid wasting 35 cubic meters of water per family per year.

There shower it is always preferable to the tub because it saves 23 cubic meters of water per year. You can reduce the flow of the shower and do it quickly: every minute you save from 7 to 9 liters of water.

The domestic appliances that use water must always be used with a full load. Do not wash the dishes by hand, but with the dishwasher which saves about 50 liters of water per day: you need up to 70 when washing by hand compared to 15 for the appliance cycle.

– Air conditioners, from May 1st the rules for the summer come into force

– Energy saving, driving against expensive bills without suffering from the heat