How do you save water?

[fiamma]

Do you make a conscious attempt to save water? If so, how?
I don't shower every day, unless I feel I need to, and try to turn on taps for the time strictly necessary; generally every time I use water I try to use as little as I can. Thoughts? Suggestions?

TIA...

[Reed]

I still don't really understand the concept of water conservation, to be honest.

[leedsveg]

Why not drink your own wee?

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Article480.html

leedsveg

[herbwormwood]

1. At home I don't flush the toilet just for wee unless there starts to be a build up of toilet paper;
2. I only do washing up once a day;
3. I I live in a flat with no garden so no need to use water outside for gardens;
4. I don't drink bottled water.
5. I turn the tap off when brushing my teeth.

[fiamma]

I still don't really understand the concept of water conservation, to be honest.

Just out of curiosity - do you pay for your water?

[Festered]

Put a brick in the toilet cistern
Use same bathwater as housemate (I get in first!)
Water plants with leftover drinks tea/cordial etc
Wash up as little as possible (ok maybe that one's also 'cos I am lazy)

[matt35mm]

I figure since I'm a vegan I can just let the water run and run and run. It saves me time when I want to get a drink of water or something.

[Reed]

Just out of curiosity - do you pay for your water?

If you mean, do I buy bottled water, then no.

If you mean, do I have a water bill, the answer is also no.

Anyway, I've done some googling on water conservation and it is starting to make more sense.

[fiamma]

I was referring to tap water. No water bill... lucky you. We, on the other hand do... one good reason to save as much as possible. Seriously, every time I turn on the tap I think of countries such as Africa where water means the difference between life and death for so many people.

[puca]

I was referring to tap water. No water bill... lucky you. We, on the other hand do... one good reason to save as much as possible. Seriously, every time I turn on the tap I think of countries such as Africa where water means the difference between life and death for so many people.

Africa is a very big country.



lol if I take a bath I share it. XD

[fiamma]

Africa is a very big country.

Many African countries, then

[Sloth]

I missed the above post where you referred to African countries instead of Africa as a country Sorry about that.

[Wooden Shoe]

In my house we have a sign in the bathroom: 'If it's yellow, let it mellow...if it's brown, flush it down'. It really does use a lot of water to flush your piss away each time, no need to get rid of it until it starts to ming. Also the brick in the cistern, having a water butt so you don't need to use tap water to water the plants. Having showers instead of baths, *unless your lucky enough to be invited to Puca's gaff! And not running the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving, only putting the washing machine on when it's a full load and doing one big load of washing up when it's needed. If you do have a car don't wash it at the car wash and don't use a hose, just some in a bucket.

Battles over precious resources such as water are already happening in the world, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009...-supply-bhopal There are even fears that future wars are likely to break out over water in some parts of the world.

Oh, and boycott Coca-Cola (if you didn't already!) if you're concerned about water shortages in parts of India and Latin America as their bottling plants use masses of water (2.7 litres to produce 1 litre of product). This is devastating when they're situated in drought prone areas such as Uttar Pradesh, and they have contaminated water sources in places like Kerala, as detailed in reports by War on Want. (Coupled with the fact they also do a nice line in workers' rights abuses as well as producing overly sugery crap!). It applies to all multi-nationals and mass produced products really, avoiding them as much as possible means you save water along with all the other positives it has for the planet, etc, etc.

[fiamma]

Note to self: Africa is a continent, you dummy. Sorry everyone. Note to self #2: Must Do Better

[cobweb]

we have a timer on the shower (as my son can be very wasteful!)
our loos are the type that use a very small amount of water to flush, too

my son's primary school have a system where they use the rain water for the loos.

[DavidT]

How do I save water?

We have no flush toilet; or, to be exact, it's been 'decommissioned'. We use a compost loo. All our poo 'n' pee is collected into a 'humanure' pile. Note that, as we have our own well, this saves electricity too. If anyone wants to know more about this, I'll start a separate thread. It's easy if you have the space and you end up with incredible compost.

We have several water butts around the garden for the collection of rainwater. More are planned as the veg. take a lot of water.

We have a low-flow shower; it's adequate.

We steam food rather than boil it wherever possible; this uses little water.

Save up the dishes rather than wash a few at a time.

We never buy bottled water. Ours is far too good: nothing comes near it.

That's all I can think of right now.

[Buddha Belly]

How does the well save electricity? Am I being stupid? Pumping station electricity?

[Opheliac]

To save water by showering and not bathing you have to consider that you only have three minutes, because more time under the shower would equate with a bath.

That's what I read in a magazine. (:

I think the "if it's yellow let it mellow [...]"-thing is such a great idea, but my mother doesn't seem to like that.. /: But we have a toilet where you can decide on your own how much water you need for your wee and stuff. ^^
If you don't have such a system, maybe those flush-buttons would help that say: "press twice to stop it". Does anyone understand what I mean? ^^"

[DavidT]

How does the well save electricity? Am I being stupid? Pumping station electricity?

Sorry BB; badly put on my part. What I mean is, as we have our own well (which is an expensive option in both running and maintenance costs), not pumping water for the toilet gives us a huge saving on electrickery.

[Buddha Belly]

Ok, sorry get it now.

How expensive is well upkeep? My friend had a spring which gave the tastiest water but cost quite a bit to pump.

[DavidT]

We've been here 12 years.

Firstly, about five years we had to put in a new pump, its associated wiring and pressure tank. That was €1,200.

Since then, the pressure tank bladder failed three times. The engineer charged €45 for the first two occasions, then he recommended a new design of pressure tank, which he reckons has solved the old problems. €350.

While ever the pressure tank was malfunctioning (the first time for nearly a week) the pump would kick in every few seconds, trying to pressurise the bladder. I never worked out what that added to the leccy bill, but it would have been substantial as it draws 12 amps on start up.

The cost of actually pumping water from 130 feet down is surprisingly little. If we used what is classed as the 'average' for Irish usage (around 150 litres per person a day) and given that the pump only draws under 5 amps when running, it's roughly .4 of a kWhr per day, based upon it delivering 15 litres a minute.

I've seriously considered using a solar pv or windmill for pumping water but crikey, the cost! One day maybe.

[cobweb]

oh yeah, we have a water butt, too

[Gorilla]

i like the idea of composting toilets but have never had the space.

but i only flush when it needs it, and the toilet is a low-capacity cistern (so no need for a brick or hippo).
i never leave the tap running when brushing my teeth etc.
i only set off the washing machine or dishwasher when completely full and use the eco-settings whenever possible.
i never have a bath and always use a low-power shower (i don't time it because i only take as long as i absolutely have to and it would get on my nerves!). if i'm at home all day and not having visitors i'll shower every other day.
i use water from the water butt to water plants, to rinse out the recycling and do any other cleaning jobs around the house that need rinsing with water.
i don't buy bottled water unless i'm out and desperately thirsty with no other choice.

[*live*&*let*live]

I figure since I'm a vegan I can just let the water run and run and run. It saves me time when I want to get a drink of water or something.

R u joking? We share showers on occasion and everytime I fancy a bath it is shared, not second hand water, but we jump in together (not literally of course or we may end up in our lounge )
We have bottles that we take out with us to save on buying plastic water when out.
Wash up when sink is full
Only use amount of water needed in the kettle
Steam veg or stir fry (not so much to save water but as it's healthier)
Switch tap off when brushing teeth
We are not on an individual water meter here but pay monthly by dd. Fiamma I too think of people not having water as accessible as us. Especially when out with Elsie (our dog) and we take drinks with us, I always comment how easy it is for us. I asked my OH yesterday if you must become accustomed to being thirsty? Do you think the body adapts? I hate being thirsty and said that it must be awful when desperate for a drink and not being able to have one. Basic human right IMO, water, food, roof over your head and clean air to breathe, with a lot of love thrown in.

[Jiffy]

I used to share the bath with SWMBO, but it isn't all it's cracked up to be, all knees and elbows. I now make do with her second hand water.

I dunno, this playboy lifestyle gets too much sometimes.

[Ms_Derious]

I do a lot of what is already mentioned on here, plus some other little things like

Save bean cooking water and sun dried tomato soaking water for use in stocks
Fill pans with water and soak inside one after cooking, and use this soaking to water plants. They often need little more then a wipe over after this
Cook in cast iron a lot, and tend not to wash this unless v messy
Avoid buying things that require a lot of water to produce, like jeans
Make sure all food scrapes are off the plate before it goes into the sink so the wash water doesn't need changing during a session.
Always put a little water in the sink and wash hands in this, rather than running a tap
Have 'Navy' showers
Drive a dirty car
Be very scabby and only wash my coffee cup at bedtime. It's just me drinking black coffee from it, how dirty can it get.

My top tip is

There are only two of us in the house, so I have a 500ml drinks bottle that holds exactly the right amount of water to boil two mugs of water for coffee/tea. I use this so I always empty the kettle fully each time. This also prevents limescale building up as no water gets left in the kettle.

[DavidT]

Those are really good tips, MD!

[Jiffy]

I do a lot of what is already mentioned on here, plus some other little things like

Save bean cooking water and sun dried tomato soaking water for use in stocks
Fill pans with water and soak inside one after cooking, and use this soaking to water plants. They often need little more then a wipe over after this
Cook in cast iron a lot, and tend not to wash this unless v messy
Avoid buying things that require a lot of water to produce, like jeans
Make sure all food scrapes are off the plate before it goes into the sink so the wash water doesn't need changing during a session.
Always put a little water in the sink and wash hands in this, rather than running a tap
Have 'Navy' showers
Drive a dirty car
Be very scabby and only wash my coffee cup at bedtime. It's just me drinking black coffee from it, how dirty can it get.

My top tip is

There are only two of us in the house, so I have a 500ml drinks bottle that holds exactly the right amount of water to boil two mugs of water for coffee/tea. I use this so I always empty the kettle fully each time. This also prevents limescale building up as no water gets left in the kettle.

You wash your coffee cup? I thought they were supposed to have a patina, you know, like a wok

[DavidT]

No matter how many water butts we acquire, we seem to use all the water in them!

We have an old well behind the house that I'm putting back into service for use on the garden and plants round the house. I'm going to cap it with one of these or something similar.

[*live*&*let*live]

[QUOTE=DavidT;590731]How do I save water?

We have no flush toilet; or, to be exact, it's been 'decommissioned'. We use a compost loo. All our poo 'n' pee is collected into a 'humanure' pile. Note that, as we have our own well, this saves electricity too. If anyone wants to know more about this, I'll start a separate thread. It's easy if you have the space and you end up with incredible compost.

Umm do you go outside in a hole? with a shed built round you? Like an outside loo but not?! Sorry if that sounds hilarious not too sure how this works?!

[herbwormwood]

CAT has a guide to composting toilets here
http://www.cat.org.uk/information/ca...postingToilets

They also talk about bucket toilets: these are handy if your toilet is occupied and you really need to go!
You can try the composing toilet if you visit CAT. They common in environmentally friendly projects.

[DavidT]

Umm do you go outside in a hole? with a shed built round you? Like an outside loo but not?! Sorry if that sounds hilarious not too sure how this works?!

I've started a separate thread for those interested in going down the compost toilet route.

[Kate1978]

I get in the shower straight away rather than letting it run to warm up (the icy blast is a great wake up call and the hot water feels all the more delicious when it comes through).

My toilet has a water save option but I don't always flush if it's just a wee (sorry if that's tmi).

When I run washing up water I collect the cold for my watering can for the plants before the hot comes through.

Turn off the tap while I'm brushing my teeth.

Use the drained hot water from veggies, pasta etc. for the washing up.

BTW - MsDerious - what is a navy shower? I suspect it doesn't involve piling into the shower with a load of hot men in uniform (dream on Kate...).

[Est]

I get in the shower straight away rather than letting it run to warm up (the icy blast is a great wake up call and the hot water feels all the more delicious when it comes through).

This is also known as masochism!!

(I'm also wondering about the Navy Shower...)

[puca]

I only take a bath once a week, mostly because we have a shit shower...

I reuse water I have boiled veg in, either for the garden, or for other dishes. I sometimes reuse bath water to mop the kitchen.

Apart from that, the usual stuff.

[Ms_Derious]

BTW - MsDerious - what is a navy shower? I suspect it doesn't involve piling into the shower with a load of hot men in uniform (dream on Kate...).

No, sadly it doesn't*

A navy shower is when you turn the water on, wet your body/hair, turn it off while you soap up, and then turn the water back on to rinse your body/hair.

Since I have very long hair I often do what it called a 'conditioner only wash' which is where you get your hair wet, put on a good slop of that sort of very cheap runny conditioner and let it sit on there for as long as you can stand at least 10-15 mins (Sometimes I'll do this then get out of the shower and go do housework) before rinsing it out. This leaves your hair unbelievably soft, while also meaning you only rinse your hair once.

*They always take their uniforms off first, apparently they get in to trouble if they get them all wet.

[*live*&*let*live]

Use the drained hot water from veggies, pasta etc. for the washing up.

I save my veggie water for stock. Kate doesn't the pasta make the water gloopy? How do you wash up with it?

BTW - MsDerious - what is a navy shower? I suspect it doesn't involve piling into the shower with a load of hot men in uniform (dream on Kate...).

No, sadly it doesn't*

*They always take their uniforms off first, apparently they get in to trouble if they get them all wet.

[Enchantress]

What conditioner do you use when you a CO wash, Ms_Derious? I usually use a Faith in Nature one, which is a bit expensive really, but I haven't managed to find a cheaper one that's vegan and doesn't contain silicones.

[Ms_Derious]

What conditioner do you use when you a CO wash, Ms_Derious? I usually use a Faith in Nature one, which is a bit expensive really, but I haven't managed to find a cheaper one that's vegan and doesn't contain silicones.

I'll be honest and say it's probably not vegan. There was a BOGOF offer a while back on the Boots Basic one, and I bought about 10 bottles. This was maybe a year ago and I've still got loads left. I only wash my hair when it actually feels/looks/smells dirty, which isn't often anymore thanks to CO so don't get through lots of conditioner.

You might find something on this list from LHC
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ad.php?t=12619

I used to post there a lot... then I realised there is only so many conversations you have have about the joys of long hair before it starts attracting undesirables.

[Enchantress]

Thanks. I might have another look at the Original Source conditioners. I used one before, but it had hydrolysed protein, which my hair doesn't tend to get on with. God, I've got difficult hair.

[citameht]

I shower a few times a week. Navy showers are obvious if you keep the water quite cool. My bathroom is rarely cold so it's no big deal.

The toilet is a water saver so I need to flush at least a bit every time.

I never buy rice.

Clothes are washed in large machines (I don't own a washer) and I fill them when and if I get the chance. Some of them are quite late models.

[*live*&*let*live]

^Why no rice? It's sooo good for you, well brown is!

[DavidT]

A lot of water is required to grow rice. Think paddy fields!

Also rice, correctly prepared, does use a lot of water.

[Penny]

When I rinse out my Vita-Mix after making green smoothies, I tip the water into a big jug. Then I use it, diluted, to water the houseplants and the salad leaves in the garden. That's the ones that are under cover. The rest of the garden hasn't needed to be watered this 'summer'! It's rained most days... I also use the water I soak and rinse out alfalfa sprouts with to water plants.

[*live*&*let*live]

Yeah, I get the paddy fields bit that's what I was thinking initially - but to not buy it won't save water (on a personal level). BUT I'm not criticising, just my opinion. I don't think it takes that much to do rice, and at least it absorbs it, so you are drinking it. Whereas with, say, pasta, it gets wasted. Again, just my opinon! Each to their own and all that!

[herbwormwood]

As far as I am aware rice does use a lot of water in its cultivation but paddy fields have been in existence sustainably in asia for at least 3000 years. Paddy fields are an ecosystem in themselves.
Google rice water environment if you want to learn more.
So it is worth looking into where your rice comes from, maybe organic rice would be grown under more sustainable conditions? Asian grown rice could be best? Also, most vegetables use a lot of water in their production, but most much less than meat.

[DavidT]

Well, when making rice ideally you cook it until just perfect and then stop it cooking by cooling it with cold water. This also washes off some of the starch, making the grains less sticky.

Then you need to re-heat it to serve! This could be done via microwave if you have one, otherwise it's boiling water again...

With pasta, there's not a lot of water left at the end of cooking and what there is mixes with the dog's dinner.

[Kate1978]

I drain my pasta so that the water goes into the washing up bowl. Is that gross?

[DavidT]

What do you do with it then?

[harpy]

There are ways to cook (brown) rice so that you only use as much cooking water as is soaked up by the rice. I usually do this myself - I daresay the results wouldn't satisfy a rice expert though!

Re saving water, our bath/shower water goes into a butt thing so that we can use it to water the garden. However we never actually water the garden these days so it's a bit of an empty gesture! Might attempt some vegetables next year in which case it may come in handy again.