- Conserving Water by Liora Leah
15 y
77,028 6 Messages Shown
Blog: Mother Earth Heals
This spring, our community was mandated to cut back 6% of our water usage from our previous levels of 2004-2006. I had been conserving water for several years before the mandatory conservation, and wanted to see if I could further cut down my usage. I was pleased to see that my water bills covering May-October 2009 showed a 19% decrease in water usage for my household as compared with the same period in 2008!
I attribute most of the water conservation from the following:
1. water saving washing machine: bought a new front-loading machine; it uses 15 gallons of water per wash rather than the standard 40 gallons per wash. wash only in full loads.
2. water-saving toilet: replaced a 50 year old 7-gallon per flush toilet with a 1.5 gallon-per flush toilet. Adopted a "if it's brown, flush it down, if it's pee, let it be" approach to flushing; down side: must throw used t.p. into trash instead of toilet so plumbing doesn't back up when the toilet is finally flushed.
Additional methods of water conservation:
3. wash dishes by hand: instead of using an old water-wasting dishwasher. Dishes are washed and rinsed in large plastic bins in the sink; the used water is then carried to the back yard and poured onto the plants. Biodegradable dishwashing liquid soap is used. Plants are thriving.
Water used for washing dishes is heated up on the stove in a pot instead of letting the water run in the sink until it gets warmed up from the hot water heater. Downside: electric bill is minimally increased by this approach (electric stove).
4. bathroom sink run off water is collected: during teethbrushing/washing/and other sink usages, the tap is OFF. For rinsing, the water is collected in small plastic containers instead of going down the drain; this collected water is then poured on the plants outside. Liquid biodegradable soap is used; plants are thriving.
5. Take fewer showers, shorter showers: instead of showering daily, now shower twice a week. During soaping up, shower water is turned off. (A friend of mine stands in a large bucket in the shower to collect the rinse water and takes this outside for the plants. I have not tried this yet.)
In between showers,"spit baths" at the bathroom sink are taken with use of wash cloth (tap OFF during washing) and drain water is collected in small plastic containers and poured outside into potted plants (see #4).
6. Water outside plants less frequently: trees/shrubs watered every two weeks instead of weekly. Potted plants watered weekly instead of every 3-4 days. Plants needing more frequent watering than every 2 weeks get the collected dishwater/bathroom sink water. Water by hand or let hose drip at each plant/tree rather than use sprinklers. Water in the cool of the evening or early morning to prevent evaporation.
Have not watered the grass for over 5 years; it dies every spring/summer and grows back in fall/winter when it rains.
7. use "bucket method" when washing the car: do not hose down car before washing; do not rinse off car with hose. Instead, fill a bucket from hose and add very small amount biodegradable liquid soap. use wash rag to wipe off car repeatedly with bucket water, rinsing rag in bucket as needed. pour dirty bucket water into thirsty plants. repeat as needed until car cleaned. final rinse of car with plain water from the bucket.
Takes one hour and about 2 gallons of water to wash a very filthy car; all dirty water goes to the plants.
8. future conservation plans: for this winter, want to get some large rainwater barrels with hose connectors. last winter, put a 50 gallon trash can under the eaves where the rainwater pours off. downside: the trash can was on wheels but when full was too heavy to move, and had to get the rainwater out by dipping in buckets to water the plants. The rainwater barrels with hose connectors should be more convenient to use.
want to ask my plumber to rig up a system so the washing machine drain water can go into a barrel collector rather than down the drain. use biodegradable liquid laundry detergent so the plants should be able to tolerate this.
Related Blog:
Eco-Laundry http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=976578
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Liora Leah
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- Re: Conserving Water by rudenski
15 y
1,798
| It may come down to using our gray water system from our washing machines and shower to water our gardens and yards... I loved the story about the wind energy guy from africa... it gives me hope for the whole world...
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rudenski
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- Re: Conserving Water by Liora Leah
15 y
1,932
Hi, Rudi! thanks for writing! haven't been on this blog for a bit and didn't see your comment!
I asked my plumber about a greywater system that would capture the shower run off as well as the bathroom sinks and the washing machine--he said to build one that meets California code would be very expensive. He said under California law he wasn't allowed to hook up a greywater system to the kitchen sink because of food particles--something about food-borne diseases being a risk.
For something rather inexpensive, instead of having the washing machine water go down a drain, he could divert the drainage tube on the back of the washer so it drains into a large barrel(s) with a nozzel attached. Then all I'd have to do is attach a hose to the nozzel and the water would come out; I'd use it to water the plants on the side of my house with it.
This would take care of the washing machine run off. I've been saving the kitchen sink water in buckets for years anyway and dumping it outside; this gave me the idea of saving the runoff from the bathroom sinks by using small plastic containers. The only thing I haven't figured out is the shower runoff--unless I resort to standing in a large bucket like my friend does!
I think the only way to do this on a large scale is for all NEW construction to have built-in greywater systems and composting toilets; this adds to the cost of new construction but it is less expensive than retro-fitting. The same goes for the installation of solar panels. In California, the small city of Lakewood uses greywater to water all of its parks. Again, if cities all across America did this, think of the water savings!
....and don't get me started about golf courses--they not only use massive amounts of water but tons of weed-killing herbicides to keep those nice green lawns! I'm not much of a fan of artificial grass, but I'd make an exception for golf courses, ball parks, and other sports venues.
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Liora Leah
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- Re: Conserving Water by rudenski
15 y
1,904
| This all reminds me that the earth has an immune system and for years it has been affected by a cancer... but we will one day soon be a part of the healing process...
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rudenski
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