Comments on: 5 Simple Water Conservation Methods: Do They Save Real Money?

By: Marco Gutierrez

Marco Gutierrez — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:58:13 +0000

I’m very concern about water water conservation and I review my water bill every month it is expensive but my idea is buy square plastic containers 1000 liter two or three to recover rain water but people said is will no more rain and the other option is recover soap water from the sower dish washer and laundry but I don’t know how to build a tank and gravel filter if somebody know how or what web page can I go please let me know
I like cook and I use many dishes but when I wash those I’m suffer to see how many water is using, or my girl friend take shower on the bathtub just for 10 minutes it is a lot waist of water
I grow up in Mexico City and I know how is living with out water and it is worse now I living here in US for 24 years and I seeing it will happen here putty soon
I will appreciate if some body read and understand my writing and respond
Thanks

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:55:39 +0000

I’m not planning to have kids or grandkids, so I’m happy to use 3 times the amount of resources that the average person uses.

Although the main centres of population growth are in undeveloped, Third World countries (excluding China, with their One Child policy). Maybe we should invade Africa to enforce a population reduction.

By: mutuelle

mutuelle — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:32:56 +0000

Concerning shaving and washing faces,the leader in our home made a law:”use vase instead of tap”,all kids and adults ones follow it,and this way we save money every month,I hope it’s helping tip.

By: The Man from Manila

The Man from Manila — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:06:56 +0000

when it’s yellow let it mellow, when it’s brown flush it down.

By: Commercial Irrigation Services

Commercial Irrigation Services — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:28:33 +0000

What a great blog. Thus is true, there are that many ways of conserving water. The less water we use, the more we give to the greater goods.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:28:39 +0000

Wow, I now feel ultra bad about taking a 25 minute shower every morning…

Of course, I usually sleep through the first 10-15 minutes or so as the warm water rains down on me.

On the plus side, here in Texas, my water bills are much cheaper than they were in Michigan.

By: Sheri

Sheri — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:44:58 +0000

P.S. I love your site, by the way. So many useful tips and inspiring stories!

By: Sheri

Sheri — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:42:15 +0000

By keeping track via our water meter we have brought our water consumption down to a current average of just under 54 gallons per day. This is for a three-person household–one is a teen. We replaced our old toilets with low flush models(2.7 gal/flush) and our shower with a low flow head (1.75 gpm). We adhere to the “mellow yellow, brown flush it down” motto. I run about 3 full loads(43 gal/load) of laundry a week, run the dishwasher on lite wash(6.5 gal) about 3- 4 times. We take 5 minute showers (10 gal)during which we first capture the water in a pitcher while it heats up; we pour this into a big Brita container in the fridge and use it for all of our drinking water. Since some water does continue to run out of the tap while we shower, we rigged up a big (5 gal) cat litter container (Tidy Cats) with an attached lid, so that it captures the water that otherwise would have gone down the drain. I use this water to add to our washing machine as it fills up (saves 5-10 gals/load), or, if there is no laundry to do, I pour it into a plastic pan in the kitchen sink and use it to rinse dishes. (I got the laundry idea from the Japanese woman profiled in the book, “Women In The Material World.”) I post our daily usage/current average on a chart that I display on the fridge. Having a reminder like this motivates us to stick with it. Regardless if household usage compromises a relatively “small” percentage of total water usage, if ALL households used as comparatively (based on # of persons) little water as we do, it would go a long way toward conserving this crucial resource.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:16:02 +0000

Hi, Lisa. I know how you feel. My comment has been “awaiting moderation” since Friday. I’ve pretty much just concluded that it’s veiled censorship.

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:12:05 +0000

About shaving with the tap running. I agree it’s wasteful. However, it seems your calculation is based upon shaving with the tap at “full speed”? If so, the amount of water most people use for shaving is probably significantly lower than you state, even if you do shave with the tap running.

By: Griffin

Griffin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:57:05 +0000

@George:
Putting 2-4 barrels to cover most of the spouts would probably do, especially if all you need to water is a lawn, decorative garden or small veggie patch.

I also wish that front-loading washers were cheaper, because they save so much water AND they get your clothes dryer in the spin cycle. I can’t hang clothes outside, so I have to use the dryer.

By: John

John — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:06:50 +0000

In Australia, every new toilet has a dual flush system… two buttons, one for a ‘light’ flush and one for a ‘heavy’ one. Aren’t these things available in the US?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:31:58 +0000

Hi! I posted a comment last night. I was wondering where it went.It’s not here. lisa

By: Compadre

Compadre — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:49:25 +0000

#36 It really does matter where you live. Here in the land of 10,000 lakes, we save water (if we do) because it seems like the right thing to do. In California, where water is scarce, they run Colorado River water across the Mojave Desert in an open channel. If you want some scary non-fiction reading, Google on western water rights.

My advice: Don’t move past the Missouri River. If you already live there, move east or north.

By: Compadre

Compadre — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:41:52 +0000

#14, #27 Water on the lawn. I was on my volunteer Township water board for about 5 years in the early 90’s. Here in Minnesota, suburban residients used about 110 gallons per household per day in the winter, and about 450 gallons per day in the summer. It’s great to save on the shower and toilet, but stop watering the lawn!!

#19, #56 12-minute showers vs. baths. I don’t get this one. I, too, tried showering with the drain closed, and the water barely covers my feet. What do you *do* for 10 or 12 minutes in there? (Don’t answer that.) I think it’s a generational thing. Those of us over 50 take 3-5 minute showers. We grew up in big families with septic systems and one bathroom. 30-year-olds take forever showers. We raised them in small families with municipal sewer systems and multiple bathrooms. At the gym, I can come into the locker room as a Gen-Y guy head into the shower. I change, shower, dry off, and start dressing, and he’s still in there. What gives?

By: Larrisa

Larrisa — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:14:30 +0000

Of course we all like saving money but with the case of potable water it’s more of a environmental and quality of life issue. So many people around the world do not have safe drinking water, droughts cause crop failure and more hunger worldwide. So it seems a humanitarian thing to do – conserve water and if we get a little spare change well it all adds up – either in our accounts or for a donation to a charity.

By: George

George — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:08:06 +0000

Reality check on the 50 gallon rain barrel in the downspout – it’s not enough water for more than a few plants and it’s a “drop in the bucket” compared to how much water falls on the roof.

For my 1500 sq ft veggie garden, I’m installing a 1200-1500 gallon tank to catch rainwater from a 1600 sq ft roof. The tank will fill up in a single rainy winter month (out of the 6 wet months we get), but is likely to only last 2-3 months during the dry period while watering the veggie garden.

By: Lisa Wilson

Lisa Wilson — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:48:25 +0000

Hi! I don’t quite see some people’s ideas that it would not be worthwhile financially to cut back on the water.We are a family of 3 and our water/sewer bill is around $49.65 a month. We only use water for flushing toilets, doing dishes by hand and taking baths. We used 3 thousand gallons last month or so they say. When we moved in here 5 years ago , our bill was $22 for a month & we don’t use any more water than then & it hasn’t gone up.I know something is messed up in this apt.The bad part is the dishes don’t always get washed up every day & I don’t always get a bath every day.We only flush the toilet when we do #2, so that eliminates( no pun intended), a lot of flushes! The monthly service charge that is always the same is $3.50, the sewer part is $8.50 & the water part is $3.50.This is in a small town of 2,500. A town near here has a basic rate of $160 a month , no matter what you use. I think ours is bad enough. lisa

By: Kirsty

Kirsty — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:21:07 +0000

Down under the popular washing machine is a top loader. My biggest recommendation to all Aussies is to get a front loader – loads of water savings. And recycling the rinse water is easy here – get a longer outlet hose and instead of dropping it down the hole in the laundry, as is normally done, run it out to your garden. Too easy.

By: steve

steve — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:33:08 +0000

Put the bricks in a Ziplock bag. Then if they break down it stays in the bag.