Water Saving

Hello Yank pmsl, while you're saving 2 gallons a week, the water board is fixing leaks thats gushing out 20 gallons an hour.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Where is the yank, I cant see one!?!?

Could be a yank in Aussie. ;-)

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Actually you might find the OP is an Aussie, unless Brisbane has moved to the other side of the Pacific.

Yank expression "thankyall"

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

So two wrongs make a right and we should all waste water then.

You just waste oxygen.

So long as there is cloud formation there will always be water,its the energy resources that we have to worry about, you can only take so much out of the ground and one day it'll run dry.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

That's in lucky parts of the world where water is on tap. Many people have to walk miles to collect dirty water and still only have as much for a day's supply as many people here use to clean their teeth. And we're flushing our waste with drinking water. It's not right.

If you use plants which are drought resistant that's even better.

We collect roof water in five butts to use for vegetables.

Lawns are a waste of space, time and energy as well as water.

Have a water meter fitted. If people pay directly for water they'll be more caring.

I don't think that applies to dishwashers in UK.

That's a good idea. I keep a bucket to fill with dead water when running the first warm water of the morning. The water in the bucket is used to flush the lavatory.

You don't need to shower every day as I've discovered recently, having had toe surgery which has to be keptdry means that I've had to have a bowl wash. It doesn't feel good but it's not the end of the world and has saved a lot of water. It could be done every other day instead of having a daily shower.

Water is precious, we should value it and not waste it.

Our local water supplier is VERY concerned about leaks, both major and minor. The inspector comes round regularly to check the stop tap for domestic leaks, if he detects any he alerts the householder.

Mary

What narks me about this whole water-saving thing is that there's this little force called gravity. Gravity keeps all the water "in" (for want of a better expression) and not one single drop of water has ever left this planet (apart from the supplies that astronauts take with them) so why is there a water shortage?

Mogweed.

I think he means fill with dishes (as opposed to half-filling it) rather than with water.

You'll save even more water if you trip over the bucket and break your neck in the process. A novel way of kicking the bucket, perhaps?

While this water saving drive may be a serious matter in Aus and other water-problem territories, in UK we have more water than we need, so much it doesnt need metering. People can water their gardens all they want - and a few unfortuantely do - and we dont run out.

The sole reason for water saving _in Britain_ is cost reduction. If and when there is a pipeline long enough to carry this water to dry countries, that will change, but not today. For now the scare stories about water reservoirs falling to 50% capacity are simply cost reduction measures. Cost cutting is fair enough, and sensible, but the talk of water crises in UK is simple hogwash. We are very wasteful of water, and still have plenty.

Should we conserve water? Yes, but not for the reasons often offered.

NT

AH - of course! Thank you :-) I did wonder how a dishwasher could fill with water before the door is closed, it might have been a top loader - if there is such a thing.

Mary

There is no shortage of water.

If everyone used water as they wished the water companies would have to invest £££££s in new infrastructure and obviously we can't have that as it'll impact profits and pay-outs to shareholders.

Far better to tell people there is a shortage and put off upgrading the water mains for a few more years..

sponix

You must be from Essex with that sort of wit.

Years ago a rented flat I lived in had an American top loading washing machine. You could also use it for dishes by inserting the provided rack. Didn't work too well on dirty dishes. ;-)

Only 5% of water is used for human consumption. Most is used for sanitary usages. In the Benelux countries new home are required to have a rain water tank in the garden using rain water for toilet flushing and garden watering. Even in the UK these are financially feasible and they can be retrofitted to existing homes. When fitted you water tariff is lowered.

We are an island surrounded by water. Water covers 2/3 of the planet. We are in a country which has an abundance of rain. WE can afford to liberally use water. We just need the water infrastructure in place instead of relying of a Victorian legacy. Because others are short of water does not mean have to conserve to their levels.

In "most" cases it is cheaper on a meter. Simple and cheap measures can be done to reduce water consumption: low flush toilets (have the cistern in the loft and the flush pipes in the walls, then only a few l;litres will flush a toilet), aerated taps (champagne type of taps), restrictors on taps to reduce unnecessary flow. High flows waste water. A secondary hot water citrculation loop reduces water wastage as water is instant at the taps. Lower flows can be at the hot taps (restrict flow in the pipe). People will not mind lower flows in basins as long hot water is instantly available at the taps.

Do ours have to be empty of dishes to use?

You will not get me with a bucket in the shower!!!

Only in some parts of the world, not in the UK where we have an abundance of it.

Yep. But not go to silly lengths.

About time too.

If water was scarce they would make mandatory water saving measures: rainwater harvesting, as in BenNeLux, aerated taps, low flush toilets, DHW secondary circulation loops, etc. We do not. Most new installations have taps that gush out water, toilets that use water excessively, etc.

I am in favour of water preserving measures, like taps, toilets, etc. rainwater harvesting? We probably don't really need it.

What even in the spin part of the cycle?

I thought that that was called a centrifuge