Wow! I saved $70 from my DWP bill, using recycled household water

[K8-EEE]

As compared to last year. Everybody has different ways they can conserve but this really paid off for us and it wasn't at all hard!

1) time showers

I have 2 teenage girls who could live in the shower -- so they have a timer in there now!

2) keep a watering can in the sink

I have double sinks in the kitchen & bathroom so this is easy -- we wash hands, rinse out glasses and coffee mugs, over the watering can and empty it into the back garden when it's full.

3) Use bathwater in the garden

Because we have a tub/shower combination, we just plug the drain the last minute or two of the shower, the next morning each of us takes two buckets of water to the driest place outside the back door. Since I have no sprinklers, it's actually not that much of a hassle than dragging the hose around.

I was wondering if the soapy water would hurt any of the plants but to the contrary -- the agapanthas have never looked better, I think the hemp/peppermint soap from Trader Joes actually is helping keep the bugs off!

Anyhow since we are billed every other month that adds up to $35 a month - Yay!! My husband has been making fun of me a little bit over this stuff but not since the DWP bill came!

[yardwork]

1. Wow. These are great ideas!

I hadn't thought about using bath water in the garden. Most plant fertilizers are similar to detergents and soaps, anyway. All but acid-loving plants will probably respond well to soapy water. If the soil gets too alkaline, a little dose of vinegar will help.

I'll bet I could put a plastic bucket in the shower with me and catch some shower water, too. And the water will already be in the bucket.

Great ideas. Thank you for posting.

[K8-EEE]

2. Thanks! I forgot to mention one thing....

I have a little steel insert basket, so I can cook pasta, steam veggies etc. and then lift the food out insted of draining it in the sink....then when it cools it goes in the sink watering can, and rinsing out the pot also, that's enough for a couple of container plants right there!

I'm kind of amazed at how much water we pour down the drain every day....

[roguevalley]

18. wonderful. another thing, if you turn off the shower as you lather or

do your hair and only use it when you rinse, it saves water. also, check the seals on your faucets. a steady slow drip is a bad thing. :)

[JCMach1]

37. Pick up the NAVY style shower head with the on/off switch

This also uses less water, but actually increases pressure.

[snacker]

3. Great ideas...

I have been thinking about using the bath and sink water was concerned about using soapy water...sounds like you certainly haven't had any problems. I'm going to start recycling our water today!

[K8-EEE]

7. I haven't been using the soapy water for food plants, herbs etc....

cuz I don't want the zuchhini tasting like soap, but I don't really KNOW that it would....has anybody ever tried that??? I feel like I would IMAGINE it even if it didn't, LOL!

[yardwork]

16. No, your zucchini won't taste like soap unless you get it on the vegetables themselves!

The chemicals in soap are very similar to the chemicals in fertilizer. The plant will use them the same way it uses fertilizer, to producer delicious vegetables.

Be sure to rinse your vegetables in clear water (that can be reused to water other plants!) to get any soap, dirt, bacteria, bird doo-doo, etc. off.

[K8-EEE]

25. Whoa! Thanks yardwork, I'll be expanding my operation here.....

I can tell by your screenname you know what you're talking about!

[sandnsea]

4. Do you have a washing machine?

Many moons ago, during the 70's CA drought, they were encouraging us to run our washer line into our backyard or garden. It's a good idea and would probably be the bulk of your waste water bill. I never thought about it, I think I'll call the city and see if it's okay to do that.

[K8-EEE]

6. OMG! I haven't the foggiest idea how to do that.....

but it sounds like a really smart idea!

[sandnsea]

11. A long pvc pipe

that went out in the backyard. I imagine you could poke holes in it so that it would spread water instead of just dumping into one spot. I think we waste a ton of water in this country, well we waste everything but I guess we all know that.

[K8-EEE]

26. Am now obsessed with this idea.....

Although repeat, don't know how to do that.....maybe I can get my plumber to do the pipe or hose or whatever...

I guess you have to wash everything in cold water, or maybe have it go to a rain barrel like recepticle to cool down?

[sandnsea]

28. The water is always hot in CA

coming out of the hose. I think the wash time cools it down enough so that it's not any hotter than when it comes out of the hose otherwise.

IIRC, your washer has all the hoses on the back. Somewhere back there, is a big hose that hooks up to your drain system, or maybe just sticks down a drain pipe. Now if your washer is inside, you're possibly out of luck. But if it's in the garage, just run it like you do your dryer vent. Outside.

I would definitely contact the city to ask if you can recycle your wash water and those are the exact words I would use. You don't want to get a fine, but at the same time you want to make it clear to them that you aren't asking to dump sludge out in your garden and yard.

[mdmc]

35. I always wash in cold water

soaps now can handle it and there is little to no heat pollution:kick:

[kestrel91316]

8. Here in LA I think the sewer bill is linked to your water usage -

the meter is on the "in" side, based on how much you draw. There's no meter on the "out" side(sewer).

So to get that bill down, USE less.

[sandnsea]

9. Recycle water for lawn and garden

You have a lot lot less water coming in.

Our bill is separated for water and sewer as well.

[K8-EEE]

10. True! Of course gardening water doesn't go through the sewer

but it is taxed as if it does....it's all based on how many gallons you use, it saves a lot of money to cut back even 10%.

[kestrel91316]

24. In LA there is some way they factor in lot size, too. I think the places

with big lots don't have to pay such a high sewer fee per gallon of water used, because they aren't using the sewer system when they water the lawn.....

[Fresh_Start]

5. I've done this for years whenever we had watering bans

since I hated the idea of killing our landscaping.

[Contrary1]

12. I have a friend in Australia...

They had been on water restriction, and came up with a creative way to catch what little rain they had. They were able to get a large recycle bin, set it behind the garage, blocked all the downspouts but one, and rerouted it to drain into the bin. They then installed a pressurized faucet, and used the water for the lawn and garden.

Their yard was the only one in the neighborhood with green grass.

[K8-EEE]

14. Australia is having an awful drought!

My 16 y/o is headed there in a couple of weeks for a student exchange program so she better take her new water conservation habits with her or the family she stays with will be pissed!

[Contrary1]

19. I am so jealous!!!

My friend is in Canberra. I have never met her face to face. During my treatments for Breast Cancer, she was the lone voice on many a sleepless night that helped me through. I love her like a sister.

[youthere]

39. We do something similar...

We were able to get some large barrels from a friend of ours. My husband attached ordinary spigots to them about 3 inches up from the bottom and then attached a soaker hose to each one that runs the length of a flower/vegetable bed. They sit on cinder blocks alongs the edge of our garden that runs parallel to the garage. He then reworked the garage downspouts so they emptied into the barrels. When its raining (or due to rain) we run out and turn the spigots off and collect the rainwater. When it's dry we open the spigots and let it soak away. We are on well water and so far I haven't drawn from the well for the garden ONCE. We set some barrels to catch water from the downspouts on the house too and I use that for watering houseplants and the flowerbeds and the trees.

[fudge stripe cookays]

41. They're all the rage now...

Here's a good link....

http://rainbarrelguide.com/

[CrispyQ]

13. This is a little off topic,

but the town I lived in had a severe water shortage a few summers ago & residents were allowed only 2 hours a week to water their lawn. By the end of the summer I was sure our grass was toast, but come September, we got a little rain, some cooler weather & within a few weeks our lawn was green again - not lush, but green & alive. It showed us how much we over water during non-restricted years.

Thanks for your post of great ideas & congrats to you for making a difference! The little things you write of don't take that much extra time & effort. Think of the water saved if everyone would do that!

:thumbsup:

[aikoaiko]

15. My water bill every two months isn't even 70 dollars.

Damn.

[sandnsea]

17. Mine is $90

And I never water anything. I don't know why our water is so high. It isn't even good water either.

[aikoaiko]

20. We don't drink our water much -- I switched to beer

:toast:

[robinlynne]

21. great!!! That is the spirit we all need.

[Nimrod2005]

22. I admire you, well done!

[malaise]

23. Great ideas indeed

Decades ago my mum connected the kitchen and laundry water runoff to sections of her kitchen garden. Of course we used way less chemicals in those days, but her garden sure produced lovely veggies. Even then she used her own compost for fertilizer.

[blm]

27. Heh - yours is the first post that left me smiling.

Kudos to you good citizen. ;)))))

[EVDebs]

29. The GreywaterGuerrillas.com website ! 4MoreInfo

http://www.greywaterguerrillas.com/

Be sure to see their composting toilet link

[K8-EEE]

33. THAT'S FANTASTIC! THANKS!

BOOKMARKED!!

[EVDebs]

34. Here's the problem

The Basin Plans of the Clean Water Act require that CA State Regional waterboards seek out new technologies (and lower cost). However, entrenched engineering and consulting interests control the CA state legislature, meaning that "Big Pipe" solutions are the only "solutions" to pollution problems that they will allow through.

Extensions of already over-costly infrastructure pipelines just adds to the cost, which in many cases -- as in SF's Hetch Hetchy system, with long delayed maintenance -- results in HUGE expenses later on. SF's is in the billions now, I believe, and the East Bay communities and those along the way who tap in will feel the expense too.

In Los Osos in San Luis Obispo county, the wastewater solution became so economically odious that the board was recalled and the state and county had to step in in order to pay for this fiasco. In Sonoma County the same thing is happening with Monte Rio, and soon with the towns of Occidental and Camp Meeker, who cannot afford the "big pipe" sewer system extension ten miles down the road to hook into at Guerneville's already over-capacity (in flood times it releases wastewater).

The new political ruse is to tie all these towns into a recycled water project of Sonoma County and City of Santa Rosa, since the city cannot afford its wastewater expansion. Petaluma is under a similar financial crunch, with sewer bills doubling and possibly tripling.

The state waterboards need to change their tunes quickly or a Prop 13-style revolt will hit the fan.

[mdmc]

36. thanks for the link

:kick:

[PADemD]

30. Don't forget to save rain water, too.

I just found this site this morning. I'm thinking of buying one or two.

http://www.rainbarrelsandmore.com/

[K8-EEE]

32. WHAT rain water....

Sadly I cannot remember the last time it rained here in L.A.

They have great pop-up rain barrels at gardeners supply online catalog -- I love the idea of those because it rains so seldom I wouldn't have to look at them all the time, they fold almost flat for storage.

Based on the suggestion of the previous poster seaandsand I was thinking of running a line from my washer to a rain-barrel type set up?

[JCMach1]

38. and air conditioner condensation-- you can actually use that as PURE

drinking water if you like.

[onethatcares]

31. feels great and saves money

We've been collecting rainwater, composting our vegetable and table scraps, not using city water for our plants for over 3 yrs now. I don't know how much we save but our plants look great, we don't really have a yard, and we've been in a drought situation here on the Leftest coast of Florida for the past 5 yrs.

The phosphates in the detergents do add up though.

[Lars39]

40. This thread brings back memories of my granparent's house.

He set up gutters to drain into barrels, keeping a panel of window screening on them. He used the water for their garden. He was an adult during the Depression. That household didn't waste a thing.