I decided not to get into a discussion about sewage released into the rivers by the water companies.
AW have apologised for that and pledged to do better in future.But what can an ordinary person do? The causes of 80% of blocked sewer pipes are fatbergs and flushed baby wipes,
- Do not pour fat down the kitchen sink [there's a free plate scraper in the kit, and a strainer for the plug-hole]
- Do not flush wipes down the loo.
- Spend less time in the shower [free timer in the kit]
Save cooking water - Lottie liked my tip about putting the water from the saucepan when Bob's boils his breakfast eggs, and putting it straight into the washing up bowl.
And drain water from cooked vegetables to make gravy or stock.
In the garden use a water butt [or two] and water carefully with a can, not mindlessly with a hose.
I said my best tip [other than the egg water] was to teach the younger generation by modelling good habits and showing them what they can do to help.
Here are the three items from my kit. Bob was a little confused when he went into the bathroom "Am I supposed to operate that gadget with my toe?" We have discovered that the suction cup does not seem to like the tiles in the shower!
They won't let me have the water saving things as I only pay for sewer to Anglian Water - our water comes from Suffolk and Essex Water and they don't give anything away!
ReplyDeleteThat seems silly - even if the water comes from S&EW, surely Anglian water would want you to scrape plates and keep fats out of the drainage system?
DeleteIn the Summer time, especially when my Water butts are low, I have a bucket that goes on the shower with me to catch the water whilst it warms up or when I'm washing before adding soap and shower gel and I take it to water the garden. Am doing it now actually as there's not been rain for a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteKx
🚿🚿 that's incredibly conscientious Kezzie 🚿🚿
DeleteLike K. I have a bucket in my bath which I use to catch the water until it runs hot enough to wash my hair with the shower attachment, and an extra bowl in the kitchen to catch the cold water from there until the tap runs warm enough to fill the washing up bowl. Like you I also tip the egg boiling water into the bowl to heat the water up again.
ReplyDeleteThis is all used for watering the plants in Summer or flushing the toilet in Winter. I do all the usual water saving techniques and have been known to get quite angry when I see people with taps running and water going down the plughole .... and don't get me started on people who flush any sort of wipe down the toilet or pour fat down drains!!
Well done Sue!
DeleteIf there’s one thing 40 years of caravanning and motorhoming has taught us, it’s how to be careful with water and not to put anything down the sink drain. I set my phone alarm for the shower and leave it outside the door-it’s annoyingly loud that it’s a necessity to get out and shut it off! We’re very careful about putting the right amount of water in the kettle so help prevent waste. Nice little gadgets and they will be helpful in preventing pipe blocking as well as saving water. Catriona
ReplyDeleteSo many people overfill the kettle - wastinh energy as well as water
DeleteI had to laugh at No grease down the sink. We'd been married 3 weeks and I was about the pour greese when DH came into the room and said "Don't do that!!" My reply was "My mother did it this way!" Notice all of the pronouns. He thought I was about to pour the grease down the drain but I had n empty veg can in the sink and that was where the grease was going. DH couldn't see the can from his vantage point. All of these 51 years later, we haven't killed each other ... yet!
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Great story BA!
Deletethanks for that ive just ordered the garden kit
ReplyDeleteHope you find it useful
DeleteWe are on a septic system but I still wouldn't want any fat to go down the drain so I keep a can to drain it into. I do sometimes overfill the kettle but then drink warm water from it in a glass as I like warm water.
ReplyDelete👍
DeleteWhen we first married almost 40 years ago we lived in what I will loosely call a shed and I had to haul in all our water and then haul it out again after use. We eventually got a drain and then eureka running cold water and finally hot. This has made me a fanatic on saving water to this day.
ReplyDeleteExperiences like that shape lifetime habits. Many of my family who lived through WW2 and rationing were careful with food waste for the rest of their lives!
DeleteI, too, do most of the things people do to save water - there's a bucket near the bathroom sink to collect the water while I wait for it to get warm (Dancer thinks it's a big water dish!), a bucket in the shower to collect that water, too (the water collected in both buckets is used to water the non-food plants in the front garden), turn off the tap while brushing my teeth, I measure the water when I boil it to make tea, water the garden on the assigned days (but, I do use a garden hose; however, I don't use the sprinklers). I don't have a rain water collector, though.
ReplyDeleteThis is all very good, Bless. In the UK, garden rainwater collectors are called 'butts' - another UK /USA opportunity for misunderstanding!
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