Water Conservation Question

[greenroomsurfer]

Hey mermaid ya forgot one. Don't spill your Cosmo.

 

[Mermaid]

Hey mermaid ya forgot one. Don't spill your Cosmo.

You think there's any chance of that happening?

 

[Smiling JOe]

The on-demand (aka - tankless) water heaters will do the trick, but only if you install it close to the faucet. If you simply replace your existing water heater, the water will still be wasted as you wait for the hot water, and you will be wasting the energy used to heat the water which remains in the pipe when you turn off the water. A well-designed, energy efficient home would be designed with location of water heaters in mind -- a rare find in our over-sized homes being built, today.

 

[NoHall]

Ah, makes sense. We don't use many scary chems and soaps in this house (no SLS's, no bleach, no phosphates, etc...) so sometimes I forget how dangerous semi-used water can be. But using it to flush my toilets makes total sense, watering the plants, maybe not.

Last summer when the lake was almost empty and my well was getting low, I started using the water out of the tub for toilet flushing. My lavender bubble bath kept the bowl nice and clean.

I ran the washing machine into a rain barrel (we don't have a law against gray water in Georgia) and the water went out a spigot onto my trees. I filled up milk jugs with water and put them in the bottom of the barrel to force most of the water out, and it didn't get too icky in there. I don't use fabric softener, though.

I'm thinking of doing it again. My stupid septic system likes it better without the washing machine, anyway--it floods out too much water too quickly.

 

[ASH]

Up North, I routed my water conditioner and wash machine to a separate drain field to help the situation of overfilling a septic tank.
Four kids were very tough on the old system until I did this.

 

[Matt J]

I didn't make that mistake, I surf and we use wax for traction. Not all toilets have wax rings. Some work on vacuum systems and the big money ones have totally different connections like bodays ( spelling ?) and they have hot and cold running water. I lived over seas till I was 16 and the US is way behind when it comes to house hold engineering ( France, Germany and Japan made it an art form) They have had on demand water heaters for 30+ years. Believe it or not in Seville Spain there is an Old Roman archaeologist site called Italica they had flushing toilets and running water 3000 years ago and the town there now doesn't even have that. Oh yea and paved roads an aqueducts. maybe we should learn from the past Romans.

I don't think the Romans are the best example. Those flushing toilets were like the urinals in large arenas. Long tub with constantly running water.

 

[greenroomsurfer]

And your point is?

 

[organicmama]

In countries/islands like Curacao, Netherlands Antilles the locals don't have hot water heaters. Obviously, the hotels do, but even the well-to-do locals generally didn't have hot water & I learned to take showers when the pipes were most likely to be warmed up by the sun. Still froze my tushie off & it really cut my shower length down to nil. That also mean that the washing machine always washed on cold. I don't remember a dishwasher. I think it was rarely used, if there was one in the house.

 

[scooterbug44]

I spent the week feeling guilty whenever I ran my shower to get warm water!

Then decided this morning I will not feel guilty about my warm water until people stop watering the sidewalks, planting lawns, and building a million gallon a day waterparks in drought stricken areas.

 

[NoHall]

I spent the week feeling guilty whenever I ran my shower to get warm water!

Then decided this morning I will not feel guilty about my warm water until people stop watering the sidewalks, planting lawns, and building a million gallon a day waterparks in drought stricken areas.

Why don't you just kick me in the head, Scooterbug? :angry: