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Frugal Water Saving Tips

13

Comments

  • #62
    ghogie91
    Registered Users Posts: 1,121 ✭✭✭ghogie91


    Rain water collection for washing or watering plants


  • #63
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,373 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    RebelButtMunch wrote: »
    Put a brick in the cistern.
    I remember an episode of "king of the hill" where they put in a new toilet or did the block trick. The kid in it was counting the amount of flushes people were now having to do and telling everyone about it. His mother going mad since he was telling people "mom needs 4-5 flushes to get hers down, dad only needs 2".

    If you did not have one of these new toilets with the small/large flush volume you could have one dedicated very low volume flushing toilet with lots of bricks in it, just for doing a wee in.


  • #64
    chipsdave
    Registered Users Posts: 316 ✭✭chipsdave


    get together with your Neighbours and shower/bath in one anothers Homes simultaneously , Heres how it works : You feel like a shower so you text around your Neighbours ( via FREE webtext ) , say then Your Neighbours Wife feels like a shower also , You then go to Her place and shower together , Shes then got 1 credit to come back and shower with You or your wife , or all 3 possibly , the more people that can cram into the shower the higher the savings and cut back on soap , shampoo too of course , hope this is of a help.


  • #65
    RebelButtMunch
    Registered Users Posts: 2,378 ✭✭✭RebelButtMunch


    ghogie91 wrote: »
    Rain water collection for washing or watering plants

    I hope you mean washing the plants and not yourself or anything inside your house?


  • #66
    ghogie91
    Registered Users Posts: 1,121 ✭✭✭ghogie91


    RebelButtMunch wrote: »
    I hope you mean washing the plants and not yourself or anything inside your house?

    Meant washing the car


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  • #67
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,523 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    ghogie91 wrote: »
    Meant washing the car

    Bye bye paintwork, if you're not at least screen filtering it.


  • #68
    ghogie91
    Registered Users Posts: 1,121 ✭✭✭ghogie91


    MYOB wrote: »
    Bye bye paintwork, if you're not at least screen filtering it.
    Lads im talking about collecting a filtering properly come on now, do ye think I am saving all my beer bottles to collect it?


  • #69
    Shenshen
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,453 Mod ✭✭✭✭Shenshen


    Get on of those cisterns where you can stop the flushing whenever you want by pulling the lever back up.

    Use a glass of water when brushing your teeth (rinse with the water in the glass and wash out your toothpaste in it after).

    Turn the shower off while lathering up with shampoo and shower gel, turn on again to rinse off.

    Don't put on half-full washing machine, make sure it's actually full.

    Same goes for the dishwasher. Dishwashers actually use less water than washing up by hand.


  • #70
    bagels
    Registered Users Posts: 630 ✭✭✭bagels


    Shenshen wrote: »
    Use a glass of water when brushing your teeth (rinse with the water in the glass and wash out your toothpaste in it after).

    Some years ago I read that its better not to rinse your mouth after brushing and I haven't done so since.


  • #71
    Shenshen
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,453 Mod ✭✭✭✭Shenshen


    bagels wrote: »
    Some years ago I read that its better not to rinse your mouth after brushing and I haven't done so since.

    Fair enough... but I'm not sure I would want to taste the toothpaste all day, personally.


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  • #72
    bagels
    Registered Users Posts: 630 ✭✭✭bagels


    Shenshen wrote: »
    Fair enough... but I'm not sure I would want to taste the toothpaste all day, personally.

    ah but the ladies love it LOL


  • #73
    RebelButtMunch
    Registered Users Posts: 2,378 ✭✭✭RebelButtMunch


    bagels wrote: »
    ah but the ladies love it LOL

    Espeically the Euthymol. Mmm tastes like tcp crossed with lemsip.


  • #74
    TallGlass
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,935 ✭✭✭TallGlass


    MYOB wrote: »
    Bye bye paintwork, if you're not at least screen filtering it.

    Interesting. Considering the car sits out all day in the rain. Why if you store it would it be any different?


  • #75
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,523 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    TallGlass wrote: »
    Interesting. Considering the car sits out all day in the rain. Why if you store it would it be any different?

    You're going to be using cloths, brushes or sponges and will end up scraping the paintwork to death with the stones/suspended grit etc that end up in collected rainwater.

    Basically, unfiltered rainwater can be used to water plants and very little else. Filtered has a few more uses, filtered and basic treatment can be used a lot more - pretty close to all but drinking water applications.


  • #76
    allthedoyles
    Registered Users Posts: 6,893 ✭✭✭allthedoyles


    Today first day of rain since water charges ...............anyone collect any ?


  • #77
    _John C
    Registered Users Posts: 381 ✭✭_John C


    Yeah, I got my two 210 litre water butts filled. So now I have 420 litres of water that I dont need because the garden and all the pot plants have been watered by the rain anyway!!!! It will probably sit there until next summer when I need to water the plants again. I have a power washer so I might use a few litres to wash down the patio during the winter. Anybody got anymore ideas?


  • #78
    allthedoyles
    Registered Users Posts: 6,893 ✭✭✭allthedoyles


    allthedoyles wrote: »
    Here is a home-made Rainwater Harvesting System:
    CopyofDSC03604_zps69421069.jpg

    This is a wheelie bin , which will be hooked up to the rain chute , and used to flush the toilet .

    Just to let ye know that this set-up didn't work , as first of all the wheelie bin is leaking and there is not enough pressure to fill type of cistern its connected to .


  • #79
    luap_42
    Registered Users Posts: 175 ✭✭luap_42


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by allthedoyles viewpost.gif
    Is there shower heads on the market that reduces water consumption during shower ?
    MYOB wrote: »
    Yes, but you need hotter water and they carry a risk of legionella, pseudomonas and other nasty stuff. Not worth it.

    Absolute rubbish. All showerheads restrict the flow of water to some extent.

    There is absolutely NO risk of contracting anything from say a Mira showerhead which is designed to, and gives much better water consumption than the average power shower head.

    Where did you pull this information from? It is complete baloney.


  • #80
    Rucking_Fetard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,260 ✭✭✭Rucking_Fetard


    MYOB wrote: »
    Presumably you have filtration/UV treatment as part of that?

    If you're just using it for garden and toilets (And don't mind cleaning the toilet a LOT more) you can get away with less treatment for a lot less cost; but you run the risk of skin issues and other problems if used for any other purpose then.
    Go back 50 years or so and it's what alot of people used for washing, where you getting this?
    RebelButtMunch wrote: »
    I hope you mean washing the plants and not yourself or anything inside your house?
    As above.
    bagels wrote: »
    Some years ago I read that its better not to rinse your mouth after brushing and I haven't done so since.
    Ah jaysus, the amount of stuff in the last few months alone that "experts" have rolled back on, I've been meaning to start a Thread in Health Sciences as so much of it has been in that area....in short, don't believe a damn thing anyone tells ya without backing it up yourself.

    Hell, I looked outta curiosity, and it's Bull except for maybe people who don't look after themselves at all.

    And that's not even taking into account what's in Toothpaste but we won't go there.


  • #81
    bottlebrush
    Registered Users Posts: 8,192 ✭✭✭bottlebrush


    _John C wrote: »
    Yeah, I got my two 210 litre water butts filled. So now I have 420 litres of water that I dont need because the garden and all the pot plants have been watered by the rain anyway!!!! It will probably sit there until next summer when I need to water the plants again. I have a power washer so I might use a few litres to wash down the patio during the winter. Anybody got anymore ideas?


    Any ideas on how to hook up the power washer to the water butt? The standard tap on the butt is not suitable for my hose to click in to - do you know if there is anything on the market to attach to the tap on the water butt?


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  • #82
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,523 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    luap_42 wrote: »
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by allthedoyles viewpost.gif
    Is there shower heads on the market that reduces water consumption during shower ?



    Absolute rubbish. All showerheads restrict the flow of water to some extent.

    There is absolutely NO risk of contracting anything from say a Mira showerhead which is designed to, and gives much better water consumption than the average power shower head.

    Where did you pull this information from? It is complete baloney.

    You're (rather aggressively) conflating two different classes of product here.

    Aerating shower heads need hotter water and are an infection risk, pure and simple. There are no two ways around that.

    Any other form of water reduction results in a significantly weaker or smaller jet of water, which is what you seem to be talking about. These are not acceptable to most people
    Rucking_Fetard wrote: »
    Go back 50 years or so and it's what alot of people used for washing, where you getting this?

    Treated tap water in the bulk of the country. Fifty years ago was the mid 1960s - did you mean 100 or 150?

    In either case, not water which has run down domestic roofs covered in debris, bird droppings, moss, traffic film, etc. Well water in the country, treated domestic water in towns.


  • #83
    RebelButtMunch
    Registered Users Posts: 2,378 ✭✭✭RebelButtMunch


    MYOB wrote: »

    Aerating shower heads need hotter water and are an infection risk, pure and simple. There are no two ways around that.

    That seems contradictory. If they have hotter water, surely the infection risk is lower?


  • #84
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,523 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    RebelButtMunch wrote: »
    That seems contradictory. If they have hotter water, surely the infection risk is lower?

    The water comes out at the same temperature as "normal" as its been cooled by air - its the impelled air that's the problem. As goes legionella, they have a habit of leaving moist water inside them - its not that reassuring when you see that manufacturers have to claim they've "legionella resistance".


  • #85
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,427 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    MYOB wrote: »
    The water comes out at the same temperature as "normal" as its been cooled by air - its the impelled air that's the problem. As goes legionella, they have a habit of leaving moist water inside them - its not that reassuring when you see that manufacturers have to claim they've "legionella resistance".


    Legionella needs warm stagnant water ,in a domestic situation if you are using the shower regularly it could be warm but not stagnant... If you're not using it regularly it may be stagnant but not warm ... :-)

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



  • #86
    mikom
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,391 ✭✭✭✭mikom


    MYOB wrote: »
    The water comes out at the same temperature as "normal" as its been cooled by air - its the impelled air that's the problem. As goes legionella, they have a habit of leaving moist water inside them - its not that reassuring when you see that manufacturers have to claim they've "legionella resistance".

    How often do you shower?


  • #87
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,523 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Markcheese wrote: »
    Legionella needs warm stagnant water ,in a domestic situation if you are using the shower regularly it could be warm but not stagnant... If you're not using it regularly it may be stagnant but not warm ... :-)

    Its a common enough occurrence that manufacturers have had to modify designs to try reduce the size of potential water traps and other such changes.

    Regardless of those issues, the fact that you need to use much hotter water means that its wildly unlikely you'll save money anyway.


  • #88
    luap_42
    Registered Users Posts: 175 ✭✭luap_42


    MYOB wrote: »
    You're (rather aggressively) conflating two different classes of product here.

    Aerating shower heads need hotter water and are an infection risk, pure and simple. There are no two ways around that.

    Any other form of water reduction results in a significantly weaker or smaller jet of water, which is what you seem to be talking about. These are not acceptable to most people

    Aggressively? Who do you think you are, the moderator? I am calling a spade a spade. Or in this case, the argumentative, self-professed expert.

    I was not referring to the shower heads that aerate the water, however your argument against them is complete bunkum also. If there were a risk of legionnaires they would not be on the market in the first place.

    The shower head I switched to is perfectly acceptable and gives a much better shower than a standard shower head. It DOES NOT produce a significantly weaker or smaller jet of water, which is what you seem to be talking about.

    This shower head is far more acceptable to most people. You obviously don't know what you are talking about, until you research this particular market and try the alternatives.


  • #89
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,523 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    luap_42 wrote: »
    It DOES NOT produce a significantly weaker or smaller jet of water, which is what you seem to be talking about.

    How does it does this (without breaching the laws of physics) then?

    I find it utterly laughable that you're suggesting research is needed when it'll take you all of three seconds to find details of the legionella risk of aerating shower heads - and the fact that every one on the market makes (unsubstantiated) claims about theirs being "resistant" to it.


  • #90
    bottlebrush
    Registered Users Posts: 8,192 ✭✭✭bottlebrush


    bottlebrush wrote: »
    Any ideas on how to hook up the power washer to the water butt? The standard tap on the butt is not suitable for my hose to click in to - do you know if there is anything on the market to attach to the tap on the water butt?

    Anybody?


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  • #91
    _John C
    Registered Users Posts: 381 ✭✭_John C


    I got a hose with my Karcher power washer for use with a water butt. It has a filter at the end you stick down into the water butt, you dont attach it to the water butts tap. And the other end attaches to the power washer.


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