16 replies to this topic

[duffield1]

I don't know how relevant this is to people outside the UK, but here, many utility providers offer a pile of freebies to help make your home more energy and water efficient. I've had a pack of bulbs from British Gas (but beware - mine wouldn't fit through the letterbox, so I had a 12 mile round trip to collect them from our central post office!), and the latest thing is a water saving kit from Yorkshire Water.

https://www.yorkshir....co.uk/freepack

We've got two showers in our house, and I fitted the showersave to one - it significantly reduces water flow, but not enough to really affect its effectiveness, so I'm now going to buy a second one for the other room.

They also provided those bags full of water-absorbing granules to fit into the cistern of the toilet, which again, we've put to good use.

[Germs]

I got a letter about this some time ago, and send it back off to receive various gadgets of the same nature, i never got a reply and had pretty much forgotten about it.

I will get back on at them after seeing this, hopefully they will send me them.

[omkar1991]

If we use water showers which make the water droplets really small, we could save a lot of water. Because the smaller a water droplet is, the more effective it is in making an object wet, because its effective area (the area which is exposed) is more. So if we replace our bathroom showers with one of those mist producing outlets, we could save some precious water. And its fun too!

[karmaman]

I don't live in the UK, but I like the look of these devices anyways. We use a well and water runs short before the beginning of the rainy season every November, so in August and September we had to take quick showers and turn the water off while washing up. I like the idea of the misting shower heads since they use less water without being less effective.

[GreenQueen]

Those are some great ideas. Here in the U.S we have these things called toilet tummies that you
put in back of the toilet. You fill it up with water and then put it in the back. You then flush the
toilet and i tricks the toilet to think that there is more water in it than it is. Great water saving
product. Have you heard of it?

[mariaandrea]

That's awesome. Here I think it just varies between utility companies. Our local utility has run campaigns in the past, giving away a free CFL bulb or offering free home inspections to see how energy efficient your home is. They offered discounts on new home appliances for people who got the inspections.

[makeitmom]

It wasn't that long ago that our electric company sent us free energy efficient bulbs for every light fixture we had (up to twelve) and we opted for all of them. We got their package in a weeks time, and I was happy to have them.

I think it would be great if all our utility companies did something like this a lot more often. It would make me feel better for them giving back as much as we pay them for the use of.

[Pushhyarag2000]

How I wished I could click in those little check boxes which have 'include this item besides them! Unfortunately, far from being sad that as a non UK I can't get them, what worries me is that there is very very poor awareness or even willingness in people in countries like India [and so it is with many more developing countries] about saving water. There is a whole volume that I an write about the diffused accountability when it comes to water management by the public/municipal water establishment. Some countries in SE Asia have embraced privatization but with it a lot of controversies also. So, where water distribution is in municipal hands, water conservation and a whole host of issues is nowhere a priority.

[Sandra Piddock]

GreenQueen, on 03 December 2011 - 07:23 AM, said:

Those are some great ideas. Here in the U.S we have these things called toilet tummies that you
put in back of the toilet. You fill it up with water and then put it in the back. You then flush the
toilet and i tricks the toilet to think that there is more water in it than it is. Great water saving
product. Have you heard of it?

In the UK, they're called 'hippo bags' by the water authorities, and they are available for free. We don't have anything like that in Spain, but we do put a brick in the cistern, which is just as effective. We also use bricks in the log basket when we have a fire in winter. It's amazing how much it cuts down on log usage. Things like this that cut down on essentials without compromising performancecan save money as well as raw materials, so it's a double bonus.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Sandra Piddock, on 09 February 2012 - 12:20 AM, said:

we do put a brick in the cistern, which is just as effective.

That can be problematic as the brick starts to break down in the water; leaving bits of cement/stones that
could get into the pipes and clog the system.
Better to use a litre plastic bottle filled with water to displace/offset the water level.

[Sandra Piddock]

Thanks for the tip, Shortpoet-GTD. The plumbing system out here is not the best in the world anyway, so I certainly don't want to make things worse. I'll save the next empty plastc bottle and use that instead. Although water isn't as expensive here as it is in the UK, we're very aware that supplies need to be conserved, so we do everything we can to save on water.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Sandra Piddock, on 09 February 2012 - 07:24 AM, said:

Thanks for the tip, Shortpoet-GTD.

You bet.
Installing a low flow faucet on sinks/showers can save a lot too.
I keep a bucket in the shower for catching the water-waiting for it to warm up-and use that to water
my house plants. Every little bit helps.

[zararina]

Nice to know that people in other part of the world can receive such kind of "green" gadgets.
Hope some companies could also offer useful and environmental gadgets here too (which I doubt would happen soon LOL).
The other bathroom in the house have a shower and I do not use that, I prefer using my own bathroom in my room where there is no shower and I will just use deeper. That saves more water than using a showersave gadget.

[MakingCents]

Shortpoet-GTD, on 10 February 2012 - 03:13 AM, said:

You bet.
Installing a low flow faucet on sinks/showers can save a lot too.
I keep a bucket in the shower for catching the water-waiting for it to warm up-and use that to water
my house plants. Every little bit helps.

That's a good idea, we use that water for our humidifier (if I take a bath before I go to bed which I usually have to do due to a medical condiition). I never thought of doing the same thing before showering. Although we don/'t have any house-plants, our dog views them as a toilet, maybe I could find other use for that water, maybe to fill the dogs water bowls? Sometimes it's the simple things that you over-look!

[ConservativeGreen]

I replaced the flapper in the toilet a few weeks ago and left the chain a bit long by accident. When I flushed I found the flapper only came up a bit and closed quickly, flowing about a quart and a half. Plenty for liquids. If I hold the flush lever for 2 seconds the flapper acts normal and you get a full six quart flush. Free dual flush conversion.

[MakingCents]

ConservativeGreen, on 10 February 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

I replaced the flapper in the toilet a few weeks ago and left the chain a bit long by accident. When I flushed I found the flapper only came up a bit and closed quickly, flowing about a quart and a half. Plenty for liquids. If I hold the flush lever for 2 seconds the flapper acts normal and you get a full six quart flush. Free dual flush conversion.

Now if you wanted to buy a new toilet with that feature you'd pay an arm and a leg for it ;-)

[greenking]

Good ideas.... At home what we really need is a low flow faucet..... Too much water is wasted!