When we had a dishwasher, the instructions told us we needed to let the kitchen water run until it was good and hot before starting up the machine. My daughter, smart cookie that she is, held an empty water jug beneath the Faucet to the catch the running water. Instead of just letting it go down the drain and go to waste, she used it for things like watering plants and watering the garden or other stuff. The same thing works when running warming up the water before washing dishes by hand or when warming up the water before jumping in the shower. Catching that water will keep it from being wasted and will also help save money.
Good idea for saving water and giving oxygen to the world that you catch water. I too catch water when I just rinse things and give it to my plants that I have growing in my little back yard. I turn off the faucet when I don't run the washing machine too, most of the time. Sometimes I do forget to turn off the faucet though and feel so guilty when I catch myself at it.
We do the same at home whenever our water supplier informs us of an impending "drought" or disturbance in their supply system. We use a basin to catch bath water or any water used while doing the laundry (not so much when we wash dishes). Used water will sometimes go to the plant. At other times for flushing the toilet (which consumes a lot of water, by the way).
Water is an increasingly scarce resource what with the exponential increase in human population. In our place, some people plant arrowroots which grow in swamps and use waste water to irrigate them. Various vegetables like kales, zucchini and sweet pepper are also grown. Waste water is also passed through efficient locally improvised filters which eliminate impurities and germs. This water is reused for domestic purposes.
Yes, it is a wise thing to recycle water that can be utilised for other purposes. This may be a bit time-consuming, however, you would be saving on your water bill and helping to conserve on a commodity which availability is gradually diminishing.
We do this too as it's important not to waste water. Although I say "we".... One member of the household will flush the toilet up to 3 times in the 10 minutes he's in there every morning. A huge waste if you ask me, but he doesn't listen to being told to stop it and there really isn't a lot that can be done to stop him. I use flush saving devices to try and stop extra water getting used though. The rest of us do catch the water and we save water in rain buckets outside as well to use for watering the plants or washing things like tables, chairs and plant pots outside as well. The dogs also seem partial to drinking the rain water as well.
When washing the dishes I wash all the dishes before running the rinse water and rinse all of the dishes at one time to save water. I also water my outdoor plants by hand to save on the water usage.
Thankfully, especially lately, water is plentiful here. The balcony doesn't have a cover, and that's where I plant my 'crops', so they get watered by nature. On those occasions when it hasn't rained in a while, I carry the water by hand out there, and put a little out for the birds and my cats, as well. One of my girl kitties loves to drink outside, I guess it's like kids who seem to enjoy drinking from the hose rather than the sink.
We used to collect rain water when we had a garden and use it for watering. You could almost see the plants perk right up. They always seemed to like rain water better than the water they got when we used the hose for watering. It's funny how that works and how even pets seem to like rain water better. I guess I can't blame them, since tap water can be ... not so great. I really need to get some sort of water filter. Collecting water means less waste and it also saves money on the water bill, so that's an even bigger bonus. What other tips can you share for saving water?
My balcony is uncovered, and the rain drops between the floor boards. I keep some large planters and other containers downstairs on the back porch, and when it rains, they catch the run off. I then use that water for the stray cats, and also to water my plants and wash off the back porch. Not only does it save me money because I'm not using water that's coming out of my pipes, but it's also more convenient, since it's readily available, and I don't have to go around the house to reach the hose, or carry water from the inside of the house. I need to get a filter, as well. I used to have one, but the replacement filters got expensive. What I do for now is use the tap water downstairs, where it tastes better, and up here, where it tastes very metallic, I use bottled water for both myself and the cats.
A good method of saving on water expenses is to install self closing taps. They are not hard to fabricate and can be sourced from hardwares or online stores. They save on water by preventing the wastage that occurs after someone opens the tap and forgets to close it. They are quite useful in public concerns like schools.
To wash dishes, I draw up a sink of really hot water and let them soak awhile. Then I wash them and rinse them quickly under a gentle stream of cool water. Turning the cool water on and off as needed. I don't think I use much water this way.
