ideas on how to save water

charlieheard

Cardew wrote:

I wonder if people realize the cost of a litre of water?

I pay about 0.15 pence which includes the cost of sewerage.

Interflush_Website wrote:

Did you know?

• Each person uses 150 litres of water per day.
• 60 of these litres are used for toilet flushing.
• The Interflush™ saves half of the flushing water, that is 30 litres per person per day.

So that's £5 per month for a family of 4, or £60 a year. :beer: Hands up who would like an extra £60 for no extra effort. FWIW, I've installed 2 of them in our house, and they're a doddle to fit and use.

And that's ignoring the environmental benefits of not purifying millions of litres every day just to be flushed down the loo or sprayed on the garden. I just wish I'd known more when moving into this new-build house, so that I could have organised storage of grey and rainwater for flushing loos and watering the garden... Environmental improvement for no cost :beer:

dadrock

Get an empty milk carton with lid on (2 or 4 litre, depending on your cistern size) and wedge it in your cistern - cheapest way to limit the cistern water without damaging the valve etc.

Next time your cistern needs maintenance, fit a dual flush valve.

wash the car with just 2 buckets of water, 1 for soaping, 1 for rinsing.
Miss a "whole" car wash and just do the windows.

Save It!

saversue_3

start by using a hippo, then keep a slop bucket near the back door for water that can go on the garden, water used for washing veg etc. Never leave a tap running, always place a container under it.

I'm not on mains drainage so I have to be very careful about how much goes down the plughole.

Can anyone give me some advice about ways of getting my used bathwater onto the garden but not using a bucket as I'm worried about an accident on the stairs. I already share my bathwater and showering isn't really an option - tiddly bathroom- no space.

my first post so hope I've got it right

charlieheard

saversue wrote:

start by using a hippo, then keep a slop bucket near the back door for water that can go on the garden, water used for washing veg etc. Never leave a tap running, always place a container under it.

I'm not on mains drainage so I have to be very careful about how much goes down the plughole.

Can anyone give me some advice about ways of getting my used bathwater onto the garden but not using a bucket as I'm worried about an accident on the stairs. I already share my bathwater and showering isn't really an option - tiddly bathroom- no space.

my first post so hope I've got it right

Welcome to the forums :beer:

To get water out of the bath, you can use a hosepipe. Just stick one end in the bath and the other out of the window - you'll need something to stop the end coming out of the bath: we used a bungee wrapped around the pipe several time and then wrapped around the tap. If you now suck on the lower end, the water will siphon out of the bath at quite a rate - you can even use a spray on the end if the bathroom's upstairs. My Dad taught me that during the '76 drought to get around the hosepipe ban - we'd never had so many baths

If you can't suck the water hard enough, just put the hosepipe in the full bath and let it fill with water. Close both ends - using the tap on the spray if you have one - and then manhandle the (now fairly heavy) hose out of the window. You won't have to suck now as the water already in the pipe will siphon out the rest

BTW, a hippo will save you water (20-30%), but Interflush will save you more by reducing your flush usage by 50%. And the payback's a matter of months if you're on a meter

moonrakerz

Don't BUY anything to put in your toilet cistern. Use the bottom half of a 4 litre plastic milk container !

Fit lever handle taps rather than normal rotating ones - people tend to turn these off more often when cleaning teeth etc, rather than leaving them running.

oldwiring

Can't help being mischievous!

Put more whisky in the glass!

alanobrien

Thames water and others give away hippos and "save a flush" to put in your cistern for free.

http://waterwise.fortune-cookie.com/general/save-a-flush/

Also for those that use dehumidifiers, dont forget to use the water from them for indoor plants etc.

nick65_2

I was thinking of having a water butt below my bathroom/upstairs toilet and that the water we use for having a shower could then be used for flushing the downstairs loo via a Submersible pump and a hole in the wall.

Any idea/suggestions as to go about doing this?

Stonk

Urinate into your cistern. Then you don't need to flush because the bowl is still clean.

frugalfairy_3

Can I use water from the washing-up to water the plants in the garden? Or will the remains of the detergent kill them off? (novice gardener here!).