Reducing water consumption, whether in the "wet" Finger Lakes or the Mojave Desert, is one of my goals. Besides taking relatively short showers, how I wash my dishes, do laundry, etc are important areas to pay attention to. Composting toilets, if you can afford it and zoning permits, is a big one. Besides, in most of our toilets, at home & work, ( this may be earthier than some might like) my flushing rule is: "if it's yellow, let it mellow (at least a couple before flushing). If it's brown, flush it down." Tony
On 2/27/08, Deb Eichten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It seems to me the real issue is reducing water consumption, not > necessarily the frequency of performing hygienic tasks. > > One simple option is to shower (or wash dishes) with the mindset of > someone with limited fresh water reserves. As they say in the Navy, > "time to give up the "Hollywood style" luxury shower." Instead, turn > water on briefly to get wet, turn off while lathering, turn on for > brief rinse. I found this to be a very effective technique when living > in Mexico's high dessert where pure water is in very short supply and > thus very expensive. My family also found the technique works well > when camping; many campers use a "solar heated water cube" which > usually holds only a gallon of water. Kids learn the value of water > very quickly when you make them fetch 'n carry the fresh water supply > from pump , or they have to wait for water to cycle through a filter > before it is potable! > > Another tactic is to rethink the volume of water American toilets use. > Anyone who has traveled internationally has seen that in many > countries (even other Western countries) one deposits tissue in waste > cans rather than using several gallons of water to flush. Dual flush > toilets are increasingly available for those doing new construction or > remodeling as are low volume flush toilet models. I have not done an > ROI model on replacement costs, but am confident updating your > existing fixture is worth the hassle. > > > > On 2/27/08, Simon St.Laurent <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Another option, which may not reduce bathing but might reduce water > > usage, is to collect your shower/bathwater in the tub and use a bucket > > to grab it for flushing toilets. > > > > My sink also has an access port on the bottom of the U-trap, and > > sometimes we put a bucket under there to capture water going through. > > > > It's super-simple greywater use, and not always convenient, but we think > > it helps. > > > > Thanks, > > Simon St.Laurent > > http://livingindryden.org/ > > _______________________________________________ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > > [email protected] > > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > _______________________________________________ > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > -- The health of society thus depends quite as much on the independence of the individuals composing it as on their close political cohesion. Albert Einstein _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
