Last week, after I blogged about potty training being a money saver, I got the following email from Sarah:
I'm curious to know what you mean by recycling water. How do you do that? I have a husband who works construction and three teenage sons that all play sports, and it seems like one of them is always in the shower. If they aren't showering, they are in the kitchen, making dishes that need to be washed. My water bill is insane!
To start out, it helps to take a look at your water bill and understand where the charges come from. Every city is different. Some states have a set fee for the sewer and others charge you a minimum amount per month regardless of how much water you actually use. In my state, septic system users are still subject to certain taxes.
We have city water and our water charges and our sewage charges are both based on total consumption, so reducing our usage directly effects our bill. John's parents have a well, but still have to pay the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fee, commonly known as the Flush Tax, which totals thirty dollars per year. Septic system users can still benefit from recycling water, because it reduces the strain on your well, and from what I've been told, having your well run dry is a miserable and expensive experience.
We are billed every three months and the city charges us two dollars and change per unit for water and almost three dollars per unit for sewer, even though all the water that comes out the tap doesn't go down the drain.
After the Flush Tax went into effect, I went to the dollar store and bought a big bucket. The bucket lives in our shower and we use it to catch extra water. Up until he was 2 1/2, I was still bathing my son in a toddler bathtub. Our water sometimes takes a long time to heat up, especially in the winter, so I caught the cold water in the bucket. I was amazed to see that in the short amount of time it took the water to warm up, three gallons had come out of the tap. The toddler tub took an additional three gallons to fill up. When he was finished bathing, I would empty the water from the toddler tub into the bucket. In addition, we put the bucket in the corner when we shower and can catch up to another three gallons. From one child's bath and one adult's shower, that's almost ten gallons of water saved right there!
We use that water to flush the toilet, or to water my container plants in the summer. This works especially well because when we have drought conditions and are on water restrictions (such as no watering your grass or washing your car), I can still water my plants without breaking the restrictions. When I'm trying really hard to recycle water, I very rarely have to use the hose to water our garden.
My husband also uses a water conservation method he calls a "Navy Shower." If he works in the yard or exercises in the evening and needs to take a second shower, he turns the water off while he soaps up and shampoos his hair.
One of John's uncles rigged up a 50 gallon drum to catch rain water from his gutters and uses an electric pump to water his lawn with what he catches. When I still had houseplants (before I killed them all), I used to take advantage of rain storms by putting my plants out on the back porch for free watering.
You can also try small steps. Instead of dumping unfinished glasses of water down the drain, use the water on plants. When I drop ice cubes on the floor, I toss them into plants, where they melt slowly, or into the cat bowl. We have a dishwasher, but if you wash your dishes by hand, consider switching to biodegradable dish soap and using the water left over to flush the toilet or water plants. I've heard great things about the Seventh Generation brand.
If you have kids in the house, particularly babies, be sure to keep the bucket of water in a safe place. Better yet, empty it ASAP. And if the water you are catching is soapy, be sure to clean the bucket from time to time, because soap scum will build up on the bucket.
Recycling water cut our water bill significantly, and every little bit of money saved helps.
I'm curious to know what you mean by recycling water. How do you do that? I have a husband who works construction and three teenage sons that all play sports, and it seems like one of them is always in the shower. If they aren't showering, they are in the kitchen, making dishes that need to be washed. My water bill is insane!
To start out, it helps to take a look at your water bill and understand where the charges come from. Every city is different. Some states have a set fee for the sewer and others charge you a minimum amount per month regardless of how much water you actually use. In my state, septic system users are still subject to certain taxes.
We have city water and our water charges and our sewage charges are both based on total consumption, so reducing our usage directly effects our bill. John's parents have a well, but still have to pay the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fee, commonly known as the Flush Tax, which totals thirty dollars per year. Septic system users can still benefit from recycling water, because it reduces the strain on your well, and from what I've been told, having your well run dry is a miserable and expensive experience.
We are billed every three months and the city charges us two dollars and change per unit for water and almost three dollars per unit for sewer, even though all the water that comes out the tap doesn't go down the drain.
After the Flush Tax went into effect, I went to the dollar store and bought a big bucket. The bucket lives in our shower and we use it to catch extra water. Up until he was 2 1/2, I was still bathing my son in a toddler bathtub. Our water sometimes takes a long time to heat up, especially in the winter, so I caught the cold water in the bucket. I was amazed to see that in the short amount of time it took the water to warm up, three gallons had come out of the tap. The toddler tub took an additional three gallons to fill up. When he was finished bathing, I would empty the water from the toddler tub into the bucket. In addition, we put the bucket in the corner when we shower and can catch up to another three gallons. From one child's bath and one adult's shower, that's almost ten gallons of water saved right there!
We use that water to flush the toilet, or to water my container plants in the summer. This works especially well because when we have drought conditions and are on water restrictions (such as no watering your grass or washing your car), I can still water my plants without breaking the restrictions. When I'm trying really hard to recycle water, I very rarely have to use the hose to water our garden.
My husband also uses a water conservation method he calls a "Navy Shower." If he works in the yard or exercises in the evening and needs to take a second shower, he turns the water off while he soaps up and shampoos his hair.
One of John's uncles rigged up a 50 gallon drum to catch rain water from his gutters and uses an electric pump to water his lawn with what he catches. When I still had houseplants (before I killed them all), I used to take advantage of rain storms by putting my plants out on the back porch for free watering.
You can also try small steps. Instead of dumping unfinished glasses of water down the drain, use the water on plants. When I drop ice cubes on the floor, I toss them into plants, where they melt slowly, or into the cat bowl. We have a dishwasher, but if you wash your dishes by hand, consider switching to biodegradable dish soap and using the water left over to flush the toilet or water plants. I've heard great things about the Seventh Generation brand.
If you have kids in the house, particularly babies, be sure to keep the bucket of water in a safe place. Better yet, empty it ASAP. And if the water you are catching is soapy, be sure to clean the bucket from time to time, because soap scum will build up on the bucket.
Recycling water cut our water bill significantly, and every little bit of money saved helps.
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8 comments:
Wow. That is really inspiring! We are trying to think of ways to be more "green" both for the Earth and for our energy/water bills. I am going to put a bucket in the shower NOW!
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/21/news/economy/moms_foodshopping/index.htm?cnn=yes
This article had some other interesting ways people are saving money around the house- enjoy!
WOW. WOW. WOW.
I am totally impressed and inspired by this post! This is definite food for thought and what's amazing is that it's so simple to make a BIG difference!
I'm definitely going to try this. WAY TO GO!!
Wow, that seems really easy. I will be sure to try this! THANKS!
Another way I try not to waste water is by closing the drain right away when running the bath for the girls. It is super cold at the beginning and I was noticing I was wasting water getting it warm. If you just put it super hot for a few seconds, it counter acts the beginning cold.
We just had to replace the pump for our well and let me tell you that wasn't cheap. Even worse, when we were trying to figure out the problem, replacing a dry well was anywhere from 5 to 10 THOUSAND dollars. Great tips! I guess i should get some house plants huh?
oh and it isn't water, but I have saved money on not using nearly as many plastic sandwich/snack bags. I bought a package of the Take and Toss bowls and send them in my child's lunch instead of plastic bags. I try and conserve as much as possible and it feels like things just keep going up and up.
I'd like to give that bucket in the shower a try... now I just have to find a bucket! :)
Great ideas!
We are recycling our shower water too. I get about a gallon and a half while the water warms up, and another gallon and a half during the shower.
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