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The idea of dirty, contaminated water entering our potable supply is very scary; unfortunately, this scenario does happen, thanks to a phenomenon known as backflow. Backflow endangers the public by polluting drinking water supplies, but it also threatens the health of your plants. Read on to learn why backflow prevention is important for gardening.

What Is Backflow and Backflow Prevention?

In the simplest of terms, backflow is when contaminated water reverses flow and enters pipes with clean water supplies. This occurs when water mains rupture and cause pressure loss, leading water to flow backward into city lines. Agricultural runoff, pollutants, waste, and other chemicals enter potable water and put the entire community at risk of consuming dangerous water.

Backflow prevention ensures that, in the event of lost pressure, this contaminated water remains separate from potable water supplies. Devices known as backflow preventers are installed into plumbing systems, and they utilize one-way valves and redundancies to keep public water supplies protected at all times. Preventers are used for many different applications, including fire prevention systems and even residential sprinkler systems.

Public Safety

Before diving into why backflow prevention is so essential to gardening, it’s important to understand public safety in relation to the water supply. Unfortunately, backflow affects everyone. When water mains rupture, everyone located at a lower point than you is at risk of receiving your contaminated water flow.

In most states, having any appliance that draws from public water systems is legally required to have a backflow preventer installed, especially your residential irrigation system (sprinklers, hoses, etc.) If you want to ensure the health and safety of your community, it’s absolutely imperative that you have the proper backflow prevention solutions in place. This includes each and every gardening spigot, hose-end fertilizer and pesticide devices, and hoses connected to sprinkler systems.

Plant Safety

Backflow prevention is the responsibility of everyone within a community. When someone fails to protect water supplies, it can impact your garden growth when it comes to watering. Yes, you can technically water plants with non-potable water without many issues. However, this is highly unrecommended for watering edible plants like fruits and vegetables.

If non-potable water touches the edible parts of your vegetation, that plant is no longer safe for consumption. Ultimately, if everyone does their part and ensures the proper backflow prevention solutions are in place, the chances of you accidentally using non-potable water in your garden are much less likely.

Not knowing why backflow prevention is important for gardeningis one of the many things people get wrong about backflow prevention. Ensure your garden and the entire community are protected by installing the proper devices and maintaining them when needed.

Many American citizens create waste and throw trash away like it’s nothing. Once it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. The problem with this is that our landfills are overflowing, and the earth is struggling to handle the piles of garbage we’re creating. More and more people are participating in disposal methods that can help the environment, such as recycling and composting, but there are other ways we can address waste. Keep reading to learn about some creative ways to cut down on waste and live better.

Make Your Own Clothes

The textile industry is the second largest producer of pollution in the U.S. If we can take steps to combat that pollution, we should. Protecting the planet is one of the many reasons why you should consider making your own clothes. Doing so also allows you to get the exact clothing items you want without participating in fast fashion. While making your own clothes may be a time-consuming way to cut back on textile pollution, it’s certainly the most effective. However, if you don’t know how to sew, or you’re still developing your skills, you can always focus on repairing the clothes you already have. You can also shop primarily at second-hand stores.

Change How You Shop

Many of us don’t realize just how much waste and pollution we create when we grocery shop. When we shop at large stores that bring in pristine produce from afar and use plastic bags, we’re encouraging the food industry to continue these trends that hurt the earth. We need to change how we shop. Firstly, we encourage you to try your best to shop locally, both to help boost your local economy and cut down on transportation pollution. Try to bring a reusable bag, too, when you grocery shop, either locally or at larger stores. And bring home the fresh pieces of produce that don’t look perfect—they’ll still taste the same!

Take Cooking Lessons

Food waste isn’t just a problem with large stores, it’s also a problem for many households. While the recycling and composting we mentioned above can help combat your personal food waste, learning how to cook can also help you cut down on waste. As you take cooking lessons or just learn on your own, you can figure out how to incorporate food scraps into your meals, so you don’t even have to carry anything to the compost pile. While you can’t use every food scrap you create, learning how to cook better will still help you cut down on waste.

Some of the best creative ways to cut down on waste and live better are making your own clothes, changing how you shop, and learning how to cook. These strategies will allow you to be creative, exercise critical thinking, and cut down on your waste while sending a message to larger, wasteful industries. Continue to learn how you can better yourself and help the planet by visiting our website.

Thanks to their size and the amount of resources they use to operate, large businesses have the potential to do a lot of good for the planet by choosing eco-friendly options. If you’re curious about how to make your hotel more eco-friendly, check out these tips for inspiration.

Limit Water Usage

Showering requires a lot of water, and many hotel showers are used every day. Also, when people aren’t paying for the water themselves, they may feel more comfortable staying under the spray longer than absolutely necessary.

Low-flow showerheads are the perfect way to lower the amount of water guests use in your showers, and they likely won’t even notice a difference. Many low-flow showerheads have the same water pressure most people are used to, so there’s really no way to lose.

Install EV Charging Stations

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more and more common, especially the various types that use charging stations. By installing EV charging stations at your hotel, you can show your commitment to eco-friendly practices and make it easier for everyone to choose eco-friendly transportation options.

Provide Seed Paper Coasters

Hotels often supply their guest rooms and dining areas with branded coasters that protect surfaces from condensation. Most coasters don’t last very long and end up in the garbage. With seed paper coasters, your coasters become souvenirs guests can take home and plant in their gardens to grow flowers, herbs, trees, vegetables, and many other kinds of plants.

Let Guests Reuse Linens

While showers account for a lot of the water that hotels use, laundry is just as responsible. Many hotels have started posting signs in guest rooms that allow guests to signal to housekeeping when they want new towels and when they’re happy to reuse the ones they have. This encourages guests to use the same towel a couple of times, keeping laundry loads a bit smaller.

We hope these tips for making your hotel more eco-friendly are helpful. Even taking a small step and applying it across a chain of hotels can make a positive impact on the environment.

Many aspects of life require certain tools and equipment that streamline and enhance daily activities. Whether intentional or not, numerous inventions of the past aid various modern activities while also saving the planet. Here are three major eco-inventions that improve lives and Earth’s health.

Recycling Plants

One of the biggest game changers to establishing environmental practices in society was the creation of recycling plants. Industrialized recycling didn’t come to fruition until the 1960s, when the Rittenhouse Mill began using old fabrics and cloth to make paper. From there, recycling mechanisms and plants came to life, and communities started enforcing recycling regulations. Now, recycling is a prominent disposal method that helps the environment, and one of the major three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) embodying the environmental movement.

Brown Paper Grocery Bags

Although many find reusable shopping bags to be the most environmentally-friendly way to shop, the invention of paper grocery bags produced one of the most popular, eco-conscious contributions to society. Paper bags feature sustainable production, manufacturing, and disposal. Production uses natural resources, creating less pollution in manufacturing and making it a recyclable material. Most paper bags now consist of recycled paper and fibers. Almost all grocery stores carry them, promoting a more eco-friendly way to shop.

Reusable Water Bottles

In order to survive, water and hydration play a key role in maintaining a healthy and functioning body. Water bottles ensure people stay hydrated anywhere and any time. Their invention led to the possibility of portable water. However, as a means to suffice high demands, large production rates, and water’s properties, plastic bottles took to the main stage, creating negative environmental influences down the line.

Single-use plastic bottles overshadowed the introduction of sustainable, reusable water bottles. However, as environmentalists stood their ground, reusable bottles got their well-deserved moment down the line. Now, these eco-inventions reduce the demand for single-use plastic as more people make the switch. Businesses that entice people with discounts for bringing their own cup can help push the switch to reusable drink containers.

Inventions continue to enrich the world in numerous ways, from streamlining processes to creating new opportunities and abilities. Eco-inventions enhance the world while protecting it. They save the environment and promote an eco-friendly lifestyle by facilitating the switch to green practices. Along with these three environmentally-friendly inventions, numerous eco-conscious contraptions help implement new and creative ways for you to become an eco-warrior.

It’s the perfect time of year to start growing flowers and bringing them into your home to enjoy. Unfortunately, for those who can’t stand heavy scents, flowers aren’t very enjoyable. Growing them, decorating with them, and wearing them feels impossible when all you can focus on is trying not to sneeze. Luckily, there are some odorless flowers that those with a sensitive nose can grow, decorate with, and wear. Learn more about some of those odorless flowers now.

Odorless Garden Additions—Sunflowers, Dahlias, and Hibiscus

There are many ways to create the perfect garden oasis, and that includes growing beautiful flowers. Your oasis won’t be pleasant if you can’t stop sneezing, though. Instead of investing in greenery and other landscaping that won’t brighten your yard with blooms, plant some odorless flowers that will pop with color without scenting the air.

Some of the best odorless flowers to grow in your garden are sunflowers, dahlias, and hibiscus. They come in bright colors and feed bees without choking your yard with fragrance.

Fragrance-Free Décor—Tulips, Calla Lilies, and Asiatic Lilies

While you can decorate your home with the odorless flowers you grow in your garden, you may want to decorate between growing seasons or have more variety. Luckily, there are some fragrance-free flowers that make great home décor that you can either add to arrangements with the flowers you’ve grown or leave on their own.

Decorate your home with tulips, calla lilies, and Asiatic lilies to bring color inside without choking your home with scent. Displays with these kinds of flowers will also make great gifts for other people with allergies and sensitive noses.

Scentless Accessories—Orchids, Ranunculi, and Poppies

Many cultures wear flowers as well as decorate with them. Certain holidays and occasions call for worn flowers, like May Day in Europe or visiting Hawaii for the first time. When those holidays and occasions come, you can wear some of these scentless flowers so that you can have the right accessories on without offending your nose.

There are special orchid Hawaiian leis that you can wear, along with ranunculus flower corsages and poppy boutonnieres. However you wear them, orchids, ranunculi, and poppies will complement your outfit and help you celebrate the holiday or special occasion.

Sunflowers, dahlias, hibiscus, tulips, calla lilies, Asiatic lilies, orchids, ranunculus, and poppies are all odorless flowers that those with a sensitive nose can enjoy. Whether you grow them in your garden, use them to decorate your home, or wear them on your body, they’ll provide the perfect pop of color without agitating your senses.