It is very refreshing to be able to take a shower in this hot weather. I appreciate the reliable fresh water supply which so many are denied. However, I am trying to be responsible about water use. So when I have a shower, I stand in a washing up bowl, and use the 'grey water' for the tubs and shrubs in the front garden.
Our bathroom is by the front door - so once I'm dried and dressed, it is an easy thing to carry the bowl outside and empty it. If I shower in the evening, I leave the bowl and deal with it next morning. This is a good system.
However, when I used my 'special shampoo for greying hair' which Steph gave me, I was a little anxious about the contents of the bowl. This is definitely not 'grey water'! I used it just on the lavender bushes - they were purple to start with! I really like this Dove Pro-Age Body Wash my friend Chris gave me [her surname is Dove, but she has no shares in the company!] It seems to suit my ageing skin. But the other day I picked up this bottle instead of the hair conditioner [in my defence, my eyes were closed, I was washing my hair] It took ages to rinse out all the lather! A short shower uses far less water than a long deep bath. And the bowl trick means that water is used again on the garden. As our local water company says..
Well done collecting the shower water to reuse in the garden, Angela. :)
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ReplyDeleteI always wonder if it's OK to use shampoo/soapy/washing up liquidy water on plants. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteThe Royal Horticultural Society say it is - and I guess they should know
DeleteI don't collect shower water but I do have a very quick shower and jump in as soon as the water starts to run. But what I do when I use the handheld shower attachment on the bath is catch all the water before it warms up enough to wash my hair, surprisingly it's almost a bucket full, this then gets used to either flush the toilet or water the plants if they need it more. I've always been very water conscious, which really helped out the other week when we were on the narrowboat.
ReplyDeleteThat's efficient - and loo flushing is a good use of grey water
DeleteWe are using the 'clean' grey water from the kitchen in the garden. Shower is upstairs and have visions of disaster getting it downstairs! If everyone did something to save water it would make a huge collective difference.
ReplyDeleteYou could follow the example of Smaller life above, and flush the loo with it!
DeleteA wonderful idea! Another of my favorite win/wins!
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DeleteI have just started using that shampoo too, it does make a mess in the shower. A good idea about standing in a bowl. I’ll see if I can get a bowl to do the same.
ReplyDeleteI wrote that comment on my ipad so sorry that it came up as Anonymous.
DeleteHi Hilary - no problem!
DeleteHaving just been bombarded by our own local water company adverts on saving water it was rather ironic to find them dealing with a massive leak just down the road from us over the past few days. I'm also a bit sceptical about just how much some of these companies do to find and fix leaks - from the numbers quoted for London fixing the leaks would dwarf the savings that customers could make.
ReplyDeleteAnglian Water say they are NOT imposing a hosepipe ban this summer. I think they should do so, just to encourage people to be more mindful about water use. And I am horrified by the way that Southern Water [the company who supplied us in Dorset] have been knowingly pumping raw sewage into the sea. At least they have been fined [£90M] now. But just because the Big Companies are irresponsible, that does not give me an excuse to be wasteful.
DeleteI have always been too concerned about the soap/shampoo in the water to use it on plants. But I'll assume the horticultural society there knows what they are talking about, so if I can find a bowl to stand in I'll try it. The soil here is very sandy so water passes down quickly, into what is a huge aquifer. Even in dry spells there is plenty of water to be had. Sadly we deal with garden chemical pollution in the aquifer. I do wish people here would embrace the weeds. I doubt the little bit of my soap would contaminate it.
ReplyDeleteMy brown dry lawn is covered in golden dandelions. The bees like them, so do I
DeleteWe have a well over 130 ft deep with an excellent supply of water, but I still feel that there is something sacred about water and I try not to waste it. I haven't got as far as standing in a bowl in the shower yet, though, and it does bother me to run it until it is a bearable temperature while water just goes down the drain.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have your own well
DeleteUntil last September we had caravanned and motorhomed for 40 years. This makes you very mindful of using water as you have to fetch it all from the water source and empty the grey stuff/toilet contents in the appropriate places. Catriona
ReplyDeleteWe often take fresh water on tap for granted
DeleteYay, water-saving is good!! We have 2 buckets which are placed by our feet in the shower and it gets carried down the stairs!
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