Water usage
Apr. 12th, 2012 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbhe4 minutes is still a really long shower for me.
I feel mildly guilty washing the patio with good clean water-butt water, but fine using old bathwater.
We're not saving every drop of wastewater any more but I am still turning the taps off when I wash my hands (wet hands, turn off tap, apply soap, lather and scrub, turn on tap to rinse - uses about half a litre) and trying not to "just wash something" under the tap instead of waiting for the far more water-efficient dishwasher.
Instead of sluicing nappies under running water we're soaking them in a fixed quanitity of water and posh bicarbonate of soda called "nappy brite". I think it's bicarb with extra anionic surfactants. I wonder could we profitably use rainwater for this? probably.
I'd love to figure out rainwater or greywater flushing for the loo. Drinking water down the loo is so annoying.
If we cover over the bike storage area with some sort of roof, we'll have another gutter for another waterbutt. I wonder could we hook it up to the loo somehow?
I feel mildly guilty washing the patio with good clean water-butt water, but fine using old bathwater.
We're not saving every drop of wastewater any more but I am still turning the taps off when I wash my hands (wet hands, turn off tap, apply soap, lather and scrub, turn on tap to rinse - uses about half a litre) and trying not to "just wash something" under the tap instead of waiting for the far more water-efficient dishwasher.
Instead of sluicing nappies under running water we're soaking them in a fixed quanitity of water and posh bicarbonate of soda called "nappy brite". I think it's bicarb with extra anionic surfactants. I wonder could we profitably use rainwater for this? probably.
I'd love to figure out rainwater or greywater flushing for the loo. Drinking water down the loo is so annoying.
If we cover over the bike storage area with some sort of roof, we'll have another gutter for another waterbutt. I wonder could we hook it up to the loo somehow?
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-04-12 01:38 pm (UTC)If I recall, he has some small solar panels that charge up some 12 volt batteries. Those drive the pump which pumps water up from his water butt into the tank when needed. The tank only supplies the loo cistern.
If the water level in the tank falls too far, and the water butt is empty, then the tank is partly filled from mains water, so he doesn't have to worry about lack of rain - however he finds that this rarely happens.
A system like this shouldn't be too difficult for a handyperson with some basic electrical, plumbing and general engineering skills to do. I'd like to try it myself if I could afford the bits needed.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-04-12 05:38 pm (UTC)We've actually started collecting our 'own free compost activator' and using it to feed plants which saves masses of flushes. But I can see that this would not be at all sensible in a house with kinder or a small garden.
Would this be possible? http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/diy-rainwater-fed-toilet-made-easy
(no subject)
Date: 2012-04-12 05:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-04-13 09:08 am (UTC)
Date: 2012-04-13 09:10 am (UTC)