The Water Challenge Chronicles – Jon, Week 2
So, it‚ been a week since my adventure to Target to buy a dishpan. How‚ it working out, you ask? Well, I have to tell you: I really, really, really wish that I had one of those fancy double-bin sinks. I am happy that my contribution to nature is saving water, but I find that using this dishpan extends my dishwashing time by about 15 minutes every time I wash dishes. Now, with getting the pan ready, washing it to make sure it‚ clean, filling it with hot water, and then actually washing my dishes, I am beginning to suspect that this particular water conservation measure may be a waste of time. I think that many of us waste so much water because it‚ the convenient thing to do. On the up side, I have saved over 170 gallons of water since my last post.
Since so far, the only change in my life has been the extra time and effort that I am putting into dishes, I referred back to my water conservation checklist to find other ways to conserve water.
I decided to try #10: For cold drinks keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.
Ok, so time to get a pitcher. Hmmglass or plastic? As I wanted one that will be good for the environment, and being as uneducated as I am in environmental ways I figured glass has got to be better. So I bought a nice big pitcher from my favorite department store. I have been drinking non-bottled water for some time, but I have relied solely on a Brita Tap Filter that works as you run the tap. Now, instead of running the tap each time I need water, I fill my pitcher and put it in the refrigerator.
It seems to be working.
I am reaching for the tap less often. However, when the pitcher is almost empty I find that the ‚near-empty-milk-carton-syndrome” kicks in, and I tend to leave it there almost empty not wanting to finish it. As a result, I habitually gravitate towards the tap as if it were beckoning me back. Other than that weirdness, which I cannot explain, it‚ been a great experience. I figure that by not running the tap for drinking water, I save about 6 gallons a week.
Earlier this week, I noticed that whenever my upstairs neighbor takes a shower, water leaks around the doorframe in my apartment. While it‚ not ever fun to see water leaking into your home, it is also a huge waste of water, not to mention a great way of damaging an otherwise good ceiling. I called my landlord, who was so devastated he immediately called a contractor, and as of now, I am staring at the inner-workings of the water pipe system in my unit.
Another new development is that my landlord bought everyone in the building a new showerhead. That also happens to be #16 on the water conservation checklist, which tells us that if your shower fills a one-gallon bucket in less than 20 seconds, you should replace the showerhead with a water-efficient model.
So I now have a new showerhead. The catch is that I had to install it myself. Yep, so without the proper tools I decided to give it a go. Getting the old showerhead off was easy, but the new one required this crazy adapter. With little knowledge of how these things work, it took about five hours of my time to get the showerhead on. Now that it‚ installed, I miss the high-pressure showers afforded by the one. The new showerhead is certainly saving water, as evidenced by the trickle of water it creates. The difference is life changing. Im just not sure if it‚ a change for the better.
So over the past week, I have switched to pitchers of water instead of water from the tap, I have a new showerhead, and unfortunately, dishpan hands. I find myself becoming more aware that it‚ very difficult to separate myself from my water-wasting ways. Please tell me what youre doing to save water!
Jon if you look around on the net you can find showerheads that deliver a brisk shower while allowing only the recommended 2.5 gpm.
Also if you will wash your dishpan at the end of washing dishes with the dishwater still in it and rinse it out you will save yourself a lot of time. It would be the same if you had a sink. I grew up doing dishes that way.
Great effort, Jon. I agree, you don’t need to lose water pressure because of your water saving shower head. Return yours and get something better. Also, I wonder if you had two pitchers of water in the refrigerator if you would fill one up when it was nearly empty. That way you would still have cold water (in the second pitcher) and wouldn’t need to save those last cold ounces because they were all you had. Look forward to the next entry.
Jon, I think it’s great that you’re open to adjusting the way you do certain things in order to conserve water. I have a few additional tips/suggestions for you.
I think it’s reasonable to want to have a comfortable shower in terms of the feel of the spray. I personally recommend using an Earth Massage brand showerhead (which sell for as little as $9.00 on the web), made by a company called Niagara Conservation. I’m an independent consumer who uses one of their showerheads with a flow rate of 2.0 gpm. The 9-Jet Turbo Massage is adjustable from a gentle needle spray to forceful jet, and provides a consistent flow rate regardless of your water pressure. The shower feels great–it has great pressure, and I’m using 20% less water than the typical 2.5 gpm showerhead. Regardless of what brand you buy, I recommend a person start with a 2.0 gpm showerhead, and then you can experiment with a lower flow rate by trying a 1.75 gpm and a 1.5 gpm shower flow controller, which is basically the same as a faucet aerator; it can be used on a sink faucet as well. A shower flow controller just screws onto the water pipe that comes into the shower, and then the showerhead screws onto that. They cost less than $6.00 a piece, and you can order them online from companies like USA Landlord. By doing this, you can find out if you’re comfortable with an even lower flow rate. It beats buying a 1.5 or 1.75 gpm lower-flow showerhead, finding out that you don’t like that low of a flow rate, and then having to return the showerhead for one with a higher flow rate. Personally, I would be using a 1.5 gpm showerhead if my roommate didn’t object to it.
And speaking of faucet aerators, I highly recommend you replace the aerators currently on your sinks, if you haven’t already done so. More than likely, the aerators on your sinks are rated at 2.0 or 2.2 gpm. I was amazed to discover that 1.0 gpm work amazingly well for bathroom faucets–as long as they are aerated single stream bubble flow. The needle spray aerators are typically used by businesses in their restrooms and not in homes. 1.0 gpm aerators provide more than enough water for brushing teeth, washing hands, shaving, etc. For the kitchen faucet, I would recommend a 1.5 gpm because I think it’s nice to have a little faster flow rate for the types of things you do with the kitchen faucet. The only thing you may need to install the aerators is a wrench, and some plumbers’ (Teflon) tape to wrap the threads of the aerator so water doesn’t leak. I was able to twist the ones off of my faucets by hand, and put the new ones on by hand, no wrench needed. Follow this suggestion and you’ll be using about 50% less water from your sinks with practically no noticeable change in performance. I tried aerators from a couple of stores, but the best aerators I found were sold online by USA Landlord for only $3.00 a piece.
I have two suggestions for ways you can use the left over rinse water from dish washing, instead of pouring it down the drain. First, if there aren’t any food particles in the rinse water, you could continue to use the water for cleaning some additional things around the house, like sinks or floors. You could add some additional cleaning fluid–like vinegar or a brand-name cleaner to the water. Secondly, as long as you’re using a dish soap with surfactants (wetting agents)that are biodegradable (and I think most every dish soap is biodegradable), it’s probably safe to use for watering hardy house plants. Likewise, if you don’t want to drink the water remaining in the bottom of the water pitcher, use it to water house plants, or at least toss if outside to a thirsty flower or lawn.
You should try using the 1.5 gpm by HighSierra. It feels like a conventional shower…definitely not a trickle. It is a new green technology.
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