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Show Notes
Saving water Now we’ve looked at collecting your rainwater (more detail here) and using rainwater (more detail here) let’s look at how to use less water in the first place.
Bathroom
* Get tough on those who spend hours in the showers, have a timer with loud alarm so everyone in the house can hear. * Put a bucket in the shower as you wait for warm water, then use in the garden. I've been doing this for years, because when you manage your own water, and don’t rely on the council, you realise how precious it is. * The bath is a luxury. If you have one share it someone you trust to be not too dirty. I also go second. * Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth. Wet the brush, turn it off, then rinse it at the end. This may save your household up to 750 litres of water per month. * Flush your toilet on the short flush where you can. If you have an old-fashioned cistern, you can get a bottle of sand and water, and put it in. Cuts down the water used each time.
Laundry
* Choose machines with good water ratings, definitely a front loader, as its uses only a fraction the water of a top loader. You get a better wash too. * Only run loads when they are full. Garden
* If you know me I always say: “mulch mulch and then some more mulch”. It keeps the water in the garden and the weeds out. Nature hates bare soil and will put something in it if you do not. You never see bare soil in healthy nature sites. * Water long and not often. A little water with the hose of an evening fells like you are doing good but all you are doing is training the feeding roots into the top of the soil. Then these will suffer when you go on holiday or forget for a while. Long watering, penetrating the soil, trains the roots deep and then you can do it only once a week.
And while you’re at it … * Wash your car with a bucket of soapy water . Only use the hose to rinse off. Use ecostore dishwash then you can wash the car on the lawn and the detergent will feed the soil rather than poison * Check your house for leaks. Be suspicious if your water bill goes up suddenly. Some councils will even subsidise a repairman to come and fix your leaks.
Bathroom
* Get tough on those who spend hours in the showers, have a timer with loud alarm so everyone in the house can hear. * Put a bucket in the shower as you wait for warm water, then use in the garden. I've been doing this for years, because when you manage your own water, and don’t rely on the council, you realise how precious it is. * The bath is a luxury. If you have one share it someone you trust to be not too dirty. I also go second. * Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth. Wet the brush, turn it off, then rinse it at the end. This may save your household up to 750 litres of water per month. * Flush your toilet on the short flush where you can. If you have an old-fashioned cistern, you can get a bottle of sand and water, and put it in. Cuts down the water used each time.
Laundry
* Choose machines with good water ratings, definitely a front loader, as its uses only a fraction the water of a top loader. You get a better wash too. * Only run loads when they are full. Garden
* If you know me I always say: “mulch mulch and then some more mulch”. It keeps the water in the garden and the weeds out. Nature hates bare soil and will put something in it if you do not. You never see bare soil in healthy nature sites. * Water long and not often. A little water with the hose of an evening fells like you are doing good but all you are doing is training the feeding roots into the top of the soil. Then these will suffer when you go on holiday or forget for a while. Long watering, penetrating the soil, trains the roots deep and then you can do it only once a week.
And while you’re at it … * Wash your car with a bucket of soapy water . Only use the hose to rinse off. Use ecostore dishwash then you can wash the car on the lawn and the detergent will feed the soil rather than poison * Check your house for leaks. Be suspicious if your water bill goes up suddenly. Some councils will even subsidise a repairman to come and fix your leaks.
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