Saving shower water

LightFlare

marycanary said:

subjecttocontract said:

A cubic metre of water is 220 gallons & costs around £2. We use 80 cubic metres in a year.
There is no way in the world I would be looking to save water in bowls and buckets. I think the current water charges are very reasonable.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you have to pay for it to be removed too? I pay more per m3 for foul water and highway drainage than I do for clean water.  Taking this into account, you may still think this is cheap enough not to bother with buckets and jugs. I don't bother but I might if I had a large family living at home.

Currently, the standing and flat rate surface water charges make up 55% of the bill. Assuming I cut 1m3 per year, using buckets, jugs and bowls it would have zero impact on the standing/fixed charges but would save 1p per day in water/sewage/highway drainage. Using @Loobyloo2022 figures and the cost where I live they have reduced water consumption by nearly 6m3 or 1320 gals per month, sufficient for 72 baths or 500 minutes in the shower  - a very impressive result

Heck - our average TOTAL monthly useage is 1100 gals

Rosa_Damascena

I'm happy to use grey water to flush the loo with. I have a large square bucket in my shower which I bought to soak my feet at the end of every day. I also use it to collect excess water from the shower.

For me its not about the money, its about being careful with water. In fact trying it made me realise just how much water a flush uses.

New_in_the_fens

If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down 😉 also use the collected water from the dehumidifier to do a brown flush when it times out right. Only pay for clean water as on a septic tank system - pay £220 per year and I’m working on that. 

ET22

To some people this may sound like a stupid question but how much would a dishwasher use in a short cycle. Some people think it would use a lot and some people think it would not use a lot. Do you think a dishawasher on a full load would be economical? x 

QrizB

ET22 said:

To some people this may sound like a stupid question but how much would a dishwasher use in a short cycle. Some people think it would use a lot and some people think it would not use a lot. Do you think a dishawasher on a full load would be economical? x 

There've been some studies that show that a fully loaded dishwasher uses less water and less energy than hand washing does, and gives a better result (cleaner dishes).

Here's a Which? article on the subject:

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-research-reveals-how-little-water-dishwashers-use-compared-to-hand-washing-aUDng9Y2iK8E

ET22

i think i could load it better so i will try to cut down on the frequency i use ir and see what difference that makes x

Newbie_John

This is money saving expert forum right?
As mentioned earlier each flush 1p, let's say you save 1 bucket and use it for two flushes - 2p a day. 60p a month. £7 a year.

£7 for carrying bucket in and out of the bath 1000 times.. 

Honestly I don't think that's the way forward, limiting the time of your showers, making smaller baths, closing tap when washing hands - offers way grater savings.

If we had water shortages like some country then yeah, makes sense.

Otherwise peeing in the shower (before) provides the same savings without a need of carrying bucket 😅

CapricornLass

ET22, it also depends on the make and model of your appliances.  Some dishwashers use far less water and electric than others.  I'm not on a meter, but water and electric consumption were two of the factors I took into account when I was buying both my dishwasher and washing machine.

If you have a heat pump tumble dryer, can you use the water from that to water plants with?

Rob5342

ET22 said:

To some people this may sound like a stupid question but how much would a dishwasher use in a short cycle. Some people think it would use a lot and some people think it would not use a lot. Do you think a dishawasher on a full load would be economical? x 

According to the control app my slimline dishwasher uses 9 litres of water on the economical cycle. A washing up bowl holds 10 litres, you might put 6 or 7 litres in it but you'd also waste water waiting for the hot water to come through. I'd say a single wash was similar but you'd probably do several manual loads instead of one dishwasher load. 

Glad

New_in_the_fens said:

If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down 😉 also use the collected water from the dehumidifier to do a brown flush when it times out right. Only pay for clean water as on a septic tank system - pay £220 per year and I’m working on that. 

I've often heard this rhyme. Do you have a limit though? If my other half and I managed a number 2 in work, I can't imagine not flushing our loo for days on end!