Use bath water for laundry to conserve and save...

[HondaTorneoSiR]

Are myself and my family the only ones that do this? Of course you wash yourself off prior to taking a bath, so the bath water is clean and the entire family can use the same bath water. This is customary here in Japan. The bath areas are also set up differently here as well.



-Nate

[1cheap1]

We very seldom take a bath. usually we shower, baths are too soothing, relaxing, and.....maybe we should take more baths!

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

I guess the equivalent here would be "using your hot tub water to do the laundry" since most people I know do their personal cleaning in the bath so the water is pretty gungy by the time they're through.

I guess it might be an idea to "pre-soak" stuff in your bathwater though, might allow you to use a cold wash for things that would otherwise be dirty enough to need a warm wash. I kinda wonder whether cold washing all the time is wise though, bet it doesn't kill dust mites and fungal spores, not to mention bed bugs, fleas etc, if you have the misfortune to be visited by them.

[bowtieguy]

not crazy 'bout that idea, but i do use collected shower water to flush the toilet.

[HondaTorneoSiR]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

not crazy 'bout that idea, but i do use collected shower water to flush the toilet.

I flush the toilets with the bath water too. I also use it to clean the wood floors which my home flooring is 100% made of. Our water bill is next to nothing in Japan where every utility is usually double or triple that of America.

-Nate

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by HondaTorneoSiR

I flush the toilets with the bath water too. I also use it to clean the wood floors which my home flooring is 100% made of. Our water bill is next to nothing in Japan where every utility is usually double or triple that of America.

-Nate

very nice!

my sewer bill is in direct relation to water consumption. it is 2 to 2.5 times water usage, i believe. so, exponential savings are to be had!

[HondaTorneoSiR]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

very nice!

my sewer bill is in direct relation to water consumption. it is 2 to 2.5 times water usage, i believe. so, exponential savings are to be had!

Agreed,

My thoughts are why try to save money on just gas when you can make changes in all of the things you do on a daily basis.



-Nate

[WisJim]

We used to pump enough water to fill our bathtub in the morning, in the summer, let it warm up all day, and then everyone took their turns using the bathwater before it got dark. The bathtub was outside the kitchen door on the deck, and of course this only worked in nice weather in the summer. And we pumped the water by hand and carried it in pails.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

That's a neat idea.... wish my bathroom and plumbing were on the south side of the house, I might have rigged a "black barrel" bathwater heater up. Actually my south side is quite well shaded most of the summer, which is good for keeping cool, but bad for easy solar hot water projects. The tree making most of the shade drops it's leaves to give us some solar gain in late fall/winter/early spring, but since I'd probably have to leave it drained for the coldest 3 months, or it would likely freeze up overnight, it doesn't seem worth it. It would be if I got 9 months hot water out of it, but it's only likely to give a month in spring and fall.

When we're camping, we fill a bowl with water in the morning and put it inside a black garbage bag in full sun all day, and in the evening it's warm enough for washing the dishes. You can actually buy "solar showers" for camping that are a tough vinyl bag that's clear on one side and black on the other, the idea is it fill it, then leave it in the sun all day. They're hard to find though.