The Great Use Less Water Hunt

j26

QueenB. wrote: »

As we don't have a shower in our house we do the bath sharing thing.

But what i am wondering is how about washing machines? Obviously it is best to fill the machine rather than do lots of small half washes, but is there any other way to cut back on this use of water?

Hi there, I save the water from the hot tap (about 5 litres) before it heats up and feed it throught the washer drawer when I start the wash, you have to be careful it doesn't feed back at you but it helps dissolve the washing powder as well and saves a little on the cost of heating the water to the correct temperature in the washer. Alternatively use this in the rinse cycle, in the iron, watering plants inside or ou. Nothing's wasted.

I'm metered and make sure I turn the water off when I'm away.....I don't want to pay if there is a leak or pipe fracture etc.

harryhound

gb57 wrote: »

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

You can buy a gizmo, that converts a low level cistern with a flushing lever mechanism into a variable flush. You push down the lever as normal, but as soon as you let go, the flush stops.

It appears to be a childishly simple idea - so why did I not think of it myself:rolleyes:

You will have to dig about on the web to find the details.
["variable flush" [FONT=&quot]site:forums.moneysavingexpert.com [/FONT]or something similar into google, could be a good startingplace]
I've not tried it myself as I have only one loo and it is foot operated - good way of avoiding cross contamination and confusing visitors.:D

Harry.

charlieheard

harryhound wrote: »

You can buy a gizmo, that converts a low level cistern with a flushing lever mechanism into a variable flush. You push down the lever as normal, but as soon as you let go, the flush stops.

It appears to be a childishly simple idea - so why did I not think of it myself:rolleyes:

You will have to dig about on the web to find the details.
["variable flush" [FONT=&quot]site:forums.moneysavingexpert.com [/FONT]or something similar into google, could be a good startingplace]
I've not tried it myself as I have only one loo and it is foot operated - good way of avoiding cross contamination and confusing visitors.:D

Harry.

The one we use is Interflush. I've got 2 and they were childishly simple to fit. You just push on the handle until you want the flush to stop, so you can use as little or as much water as you need. You just need to get used to not letting go of the handle - not too tricky but there's a handy sticker to help remind you.

shirefairy

Last summer most of Gloucester spent 2 weeks without running water, and let me tell you it really focuses the mind. I wonder if anyone here would take up the challenge and spend two weeks without water recording their daily thoughts? I am not volunteering as I've already done it (wished I'd written it all down) and don't particularly wish to do it again at the moment but will perhaps next year. Just because it was such a valuable reminder of just how lucky (and wasteful) we are.

During the water problem in Gloucester I was able to get my hands on 6 x 2 litre bottles of mineral water a day for each person in my household. It didn't go far. Ever since the experience though we are much more careful and grateful for the convenience of turning on the tap.

Luckily we had a water butt to use to flush our loo, but some of my neighbours had to get water from the local brook! Our dishwasher was full and hadn't been turned on prior to the water going off so all of our dirty plates had to be washed in rain water and then dipped in the tiniest amount of just boiled water. I was amazed on the first day when I poured a whole large bottle of mineral water into the washing up bowl and it was barely 2cm deep! Brushing teeth was limited to an egg cup full of water each! Washing down surfaces/rinsing dish cloths etc was reduced to spray and kitchen roll (probably not very money saving but we needed to drink!) Showering was very tough taking as much as 3 litres (half of a days allowance!) I managed it by standing in a bowl and then using the water to wash my hair. TIP do the hair first - mine was left feeling very weird after rinsing in dirty water Also found soaking veg in a little water first thing in the morning and then leaving until dinner helped to get more of the mud off with less water. Frozen/tinned veg was the saviour. However using frozen veg obviously used less water my end but who knows how much was used in the production?

Anyway I hope someone is up for the challenge. 6x 2 litres for everything for each person for 2 weeks. Even a weekend would be a real eye opener and no doubt generate lots of water saving ideas.

Best of luck

willow64

Why not try putting the plug in the bath when you have a shower? By the time you've shampooed your hair, there will be enough water in the bath to switch it off and wash the rest of you before switching it back on and rinsing off! If your bathroom is warm, it should be fine.... Then, if you're feeling particularly environmentally friendly (and you don't have visitors coming over!) you can use the water for other stuff.
Here are some ideas: Water your plants. Clean the bathroom. Mop the floor.
Even flush the loo (just fill a bucket with the water and tip it down the loo!):rotfl:

A_fiend_for_life

willow64 wrote: »

Why not try putting the plug in the bath when you have a shower? By the time you've shampooed your hair, there will be enough water in the bath to switch it off and wash the rest of you before switching it back on and rinsing off! If your bathroom is warm, it should be fine.... Then, if you're feeling particularly environmentally friendly (and you don't have visitors coming over!) you can use the water for other stuff.
Here are some ideas: Water your plants. Clean the bathroom. Mop the floor.
Even flush the loo (just fill a bucket with the water and tip it down the loo!):rotfl:

I think the Dutch or Belgians used to have a 'sponge bath' - you only fill the bath so far, stand in it and sponge yourself down then rinse. It doesn't need as much water as a full bath. Useful if you don't have a shower. Showers produce a lot more steam in winter so tend to heat up the air and contribute to dampness. A cooler sponge bath should mean you can use less heating than a shower.

Re keeping the water for flushing - make sure you don't use too much soap or keep the water too long as it will get stinky.

Should be fine for washing the car or bike.

Not sure about soapy water on plants though...does anyone do this?

A_fiend_for_life

shirefairy wrote: »

Also found soaking veg in a little water first thing in the morning and then leaving until dinner helped to get more of the mud off with less water. Frozen/tinned veg was the saviour. However using frozen veg obviously used less water my end but who knows how much was used in the production?

For peas I defrost in the fridge in an oven proof bowl then finish them off in the top oven ie when I'm using the top oven.

Sounds an arduous challenge.

willow64

Re Belgian bath, good idea,will give it a go! Useful info about the damp factor.
I agree, you most definately don't want to keep bath water too long and use a proper flush for those obvious times when you need to!!!
I've watered my plants with bath water and they seem fine, though as you say, they don't like too much soap!!!

tightfitz

We have a shower room in our house so my kids get a "treat" once a week and they have a bath. I bought a big syphon and I use this to transfare the water into buckets which the family use to flush our upstairs toilet, so we only flush this a couple of times a week now. As we have a downstairs toilet our visitors don't know any different and the water meter is happy too!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

CrashUK

boyznus wrote: »

Saving water , well here is a great one , I set up a water butt, outside the bathroom above the height of the cistern, in the bathroom I added some extra pluming, to the mains in pipe it has a turn off valve , and then another valve and pipe going outside to connect up with the butt .The water butt takes water from the roof as well. Turn off the mains in valve and turn on the valve from the butt , gravity feeds the water in to the cistern simple.

So in the winter months when there is plenty of water, mains water is not required to flush the toilet.

But as it is much dryer now I fill the bath with the water from the washing machine , and pump it from there with a hose into the butt through the window using a small drill pump , it takes about 10 min to empty 75 Litres, add a bit of bleach while the water is in the bath this stops it smelling . That gives enough flushes for about 5 to 6 days .

The reduction in water consumption has been great , bill went down from £65.00 for 6 months to £ 21.50 , and the last bill for the winter 6 months was £13.45. So you see it works.

The saving on my water has off set the rise in my other utilities gas and elec.

Go give it a go. Cost £ 60.00 to set up last year , and most of that cost was for the plumber.

your water bill was £65 for 6 months? I pay £40 per month on meter.. I just installed 2 interflush