The Great Use Less Water Hunt

asea

am I the only one that keeps reading this as the great useless water hunt?

gromituk

Cardew wrote: »

For electric showers a very rough guide is about 80pence an hour. So a 5 min shower would be approx 7p.

I was going on the amount of water cited earlier.

flymow

Having just fitted a water meter I've startedlooking at ways of saving . Every time I run the tap to wash up etc about 1 gallon of cold is run off befor ethe hot. Solution keep a watering can in the kitchen and fill with the surplus cold every time you use the sink. Use in the green house ,to water plants, fill the dog's bowl and put surplus in the waterbut
flymow

debtworrier

No, you don't need to worry if you live in a hard water area. Water only produces scale the first time it's boiled.

debtworrier

JuB wrote: »

For the agile, how about standing in a half-full washing-up bowl in the bath, whilst sloshing down with a flannel!

Actually my standard "shower" is a strip-down wash: stand on a folded hand towel, fill the hand basin and just start with my face and work downwards. I'm usually squeaky-clean after just two handbasins-full of water, plus a little bit extra for rinsing the flannel out afterwards. And by "sailor-drying" (i.e. drying myself with a wrung-out flannel before using a towel) the towels stay pretty dry and don't need to be washed so much.

Olliebeak

debtworrier wrote: »

Actually my standard "shower" is a strip-down wash: stand on a folded hand towel, fill the hand basin and just start with my face and work downwards. I'm usually squeaky-clean after just two handbasins-full of water, plus a little bit extra for rinsing the flannel out afterwards. And by "sailor-drying" (i.e. drying myself with a wrung-out flannel before using a towel) the towels stay pretty dry and don't need to be washed so much.

I grew up in a house with no bathroom and no 'running hot water'! - this is exactly what we had to do on a daily basis with a bath once a week (tin bath filled from an electric boiler).

I still do this every other day - alternating with a shower. Also when showering, I put the plug in the bath as that helps to give my feet a good soaking while standing there . This gives me a good idea of how much water I'm using at the same time.

ginny82

Bath sharing is a great idea, although I'd recommend that if you have a loved one whose body hair could rival a gorrilla, suggest they take the last one of the night, as it can make the experience very unpleasant for everyone else!

thescouselander

Spirited wrote: »

Must admit that I think it is absolutely ridiculous that we use drinking quality water to flush our toilets whilst there are people in the world who can't get clean water for drinking.


Don't wash your car at all. Wait till it rains, or wait for the winter. Does it really need to be clean?

Yes it does. Dirt on your car can encourage corrosion on the body work and could damage the paint-work. By having a dirty car you could reduce its life sending it to the scrap yard early - this is both costly to your pocket and the environment

At least you'll have managed to save a few pence on water though.

gb57

I have not had time to read all of this thread, but here is my twopen'orth - all of which is basic commonsense and causes no hardship at all.

Use a water barrel to collect rainwater for watering pots/garden. Water the garden at most twice a week (in very hot weather, this summer there has been almost no need), always in the cool of the evening so the water will soak in overnight. Water thoroughly at that time - watering with a "spit" every day is a total waste of time and actually bad for the plants as they do not put down good roots. Water the roots - not the top of the plants. Don't plant a lot of "thirsty" bedding plants or exotic stuff that needs a lot of water. Native species (e.g cranesbill geraniums) are designed by nature for this country. Never water the lawn - it will regenerate as soon as there is rain.

Obviously turn off the tap when cleaning teeth (why would anyone do anything else??). Wash up only when you have a load of dishes, not the odd few, only put full loads in the washing machine. Dry clothes in the garden (or spare room) whenever possible, instead of using the tumble dryer (save on electricity, too). Don't peel spuds etc under running water, use a bowl.

Why isn't it easier to buy dual flush loos in this country?

We have had a water meter for over 12 years and saved a fortune (only 2 of us, though). Just persuaded my neighbour (elderly, lives alone) to get one this year, and her bill has gone down from over £30 a month to less than £10. She has a greenhouse and grows/waters loads of veg in her garden.

freddykruggar

use less water...... superglue all the taps in the house, you'll also save on hotwater costs too.
For showers, wait till it rains then stand outside naked and wash your hair with mud.
For baths, find a pond and jump in.
For toilets, crap in the garden, its good for the plants and save on toilet paper by sitting on the grass and dragging yourself forwards and backwards until clean.

wow, theres a few good moneysaving tips for ya all. :rotfl: