lastic bottles of water inside the cistern can reduce the flush volume by 2 – 4 litres. But using old bathwater to fill the cistern or directly flush out the bowl is the thriftiest option of all, apart from "doing it in the bush or using a long drop".
Another problem with toilets is that a lot of water leaks down from the cistern unnoticed. Sometimes you can hear water running in the bathroom when the flushing mechanism is faulty and the valve does not shut properly. Other leaks are more devious. A crafty way to detect them is to add some food colouring to the cistern. If you see the coloured water appear in the toilet bowl and nobody has been near it – you have a leaky toilet and need to fix it.
Constant flushing of the toilet after every tiny splash needs to be more disciplined. The tiniest tinkle does not need to be as urgently eliminated as the foaming brew of a man who pees like a fire hose. (Some still can!) A big jug of grey water from the bath or washing machine can ease the consumption of potable water considerably. If you are into urine therapy you will be recycling the stuff and skipping the need to flush it away. It's not everybody's cup of pee, but is worth saving up urine in a bottle and sloshing it down mole holes to drive them away. Some people say it works, so it is worth a try!
How to harness the power of the shower
10 litres on average escapes down the drain for every minute we turn on the shower and that includes the time we waste in warming up the water. So the average shower uses at least 30 - 50 litres of water that gurgles away. Prevent this wastage by placing a large plastic basin on the floor beneath the shower head. Scoop the grey water into watering cans and make a few free trips to the garden or use it for toilet flushing. A natural alternative is to install a shower in the middle of your lawn. The neighbours would be delighted! Either way, try to use eco-friendly body washes that are more pH friendly. Best of all is to have your drain outlet modified so the grey water can be channelled onto the garden directly. A bush shower is a plastic bag that hangs in a tree and it holds 5 litres of water. That is all you get, so you learn to soap yourself up using just a mug of water before showering.
The bathtub provides nourishment for you and your plants
A hot sudsy bath provides therapeutic bliss for aching joints and shivering shoulders. Run a bubble bath, using an eco-friendly body wash and tip in a big scoop of Epsom salts. This provides magnesium sulphate for you and doubles up as a plant nutrient. When lemon tree leaves turn yellow it means they need more magnesium. We don’t turn yellow, but if you are already what they call insulin resistant, get too many cramps or have high blood pressure you definitely need more magnesium. It is easily absorbed by the skin, according to research done by a group of nutritional scientists. It feels good and relaxing on the skin and eases your creaking joints, so enjoy the benefits of your bath! Don’t pull out the plug - recycle the water. Mother Nature will give you a medal for being so resourceful.
The washing machine is a great source of grey water
The drain outlet pipe of your washing machine is easy enough to find – It has a ridged or flexible pipe that is placed inside the larger rigid drain pipe. This is where the grey water gushes out so we need to redirect it into large buckets or channel it directly out of the nearest door. Many years ago I needed to reduce the acidity of the soil beneath a row of pine trees in the garden. I attached an ordinary hosepipe to the washing machine’s drain outlet pipe (with duct tape) and the area was automatically watered. After a month or two, the soil pH balanced out and I could grow shrubs in the new flower bed. It is advisable to use washing powder that is eco-friendly because the regular super whitening big smile detergents are too high in phosphates.
One option is to allow the first rinse to flow down the drain and then capture the rest of the rinsing water in large buckets. The average modern washing machine consum