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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters fill a 5-gallon pail in the shower while waiting for the water to warm every day for a year, we'll save enough water to flush a low-flow john more than 5 million times.
COCKTAIL FACT
If you compare the world's entire water supply to 1 gallon, freshwater composes 4 ounces (3%), and readily accessible freshwater makes up just two drops.
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home › tip library › Saving Water at Home
What's crunchy as granola and saves a whole lotta water?
The Bite
This tip. Frankly, there are some tips that, while good for the planet, feel a little too yurts 'n' Birks for the Bite. But some of you won't stop submitting this one, so here goes with the oldest water-saving trick in the book: Collect water in a bucket while you wait for your shower to warm up.The Benefits
- Being a houseplant hugger. The water you save can go to your plants or other household chores.
- Pocket-change conservation. The average American spends $45 per year on bath and shower water. The money you'll save by adopting this tip is a drop in the bucket (um...), but every little bit helps, right?
Personally Speaking
None of us on the team actually do this. But we promise that every morning when we warm up our shower, we will think about all you Biters who are saving water.Wanna Try?
- In addition to the shower bucket, pour any leftover water (from glasses, teapots, anything) into a watering can to use on houseplants, or in your pet's water bowl.
- Peaceful Valley Recycled Bucket - made from recycled, nontoxic polyethylene, so it won't scratch your tub or rust ($15).
Jul 25,2008
Sponsor
All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
In the Spirit of Biterly Love
Here's hoping that today's tip inspires as great a level of discourse about water conservation (and, well, about our Ideal Bite team's lack of action) as it did last time: http://www.idealbite.com/blog/comments/drum_roll_please/.
After rereading all the prior comments, in the spirit of true Biterly love, I did a crazy thing this morning. I actually DID put a bucket in my shower while it warmed up. While it certainly didn't catch all the water, and while my shower heats up pretty freakin' fast, I DID collect a bit of a lukewarmish puddle, which I promptly put in Snack's dish and then used the rest to water my heliotrope. (Snack was very excited at his part in the whole project until he realized that it was just water).
Will I do this every day? Probably not. Half my mornings, I'm running out the door so fast, I'm lucky if I shower at all (I like to chalk this up to being VERY eco, not just very lazy), let alone have the time to "bucket it up" before I jump in. (I really can't bring myself to leave a bucket lying around my bathroom all the time, so I put it away in my utility closet.) Still, for those days when I do have time, I'm absolutely gonna catch some drops.
-Heather...off to give Snack a treat to make up for the fact that it was "just water"...
Biter Comments...
You can buy shower facets that have temperature dials. Dial your favorite temperature, turn it on, it holds the water until it reaches the proper temp, then comes out of the spigot.
While I don't keep a bucket in the tub, I have taken to plunging into the colder water before the shower warms. (invigorating? yes, but still damn chilly.)
And... shutting the water off after you get wet, lathering, then rinsing, shutting the water off while washing your hair and turning the shower on to rinse one last time saves about 1/2 the usual amount you'd normally use in a shower. It's called a G.I. shower.
I keep a big pot in my kitchen sink to catch dish rinsing and hand washing water. This gets dumped outside on plants. Sewage treatment takes energy to pump it away from its source, your house. Also, in coastal areas, massive volumes of treated sewage are pumped into the ocean. The fresh water and high nitrogen are not good for sea life.
The extra shower water running down the drain has always irritated me. I pretty much do what zak does, take a modified G.I. shower. I never thought of catching it with a bucket! What a great idea.
I've been catching the water in a plastic coffee container that has a great handle built into it. Maxwell House, I think! Then I pour it into a bucket. I water plants, put it in my kitties water dish and make my hummingbird food from it. It saves a buck or so each month but in time it adds up.
Between us, my husband and I catch a 5 gallon bucket's worth of water from warmin' up the shower every day. A seasoned houseplant killer, even I know that's way too much water for houseplants! But we do have a 2 year old, and so we use that water as the start to his bath every night. Doing this, we've reduced our water consumption to the equivalent of 6 days' worth from 7.
We employ the bucket method and water our lawn (on the off days since we only water ever 3 days) with the water. It is still green and my kids love to play on it. We also take the GI showers and even my baby now takes a bath in a large storage container so I can easily dump the water. What I really need and want is a pump of somekind to pump out the water from the tub where my other kids bathe. Know of any?
I wonder if we could add to this tip by using the water that is collected from a dehumidifier - I have been doing it for years - summers only obviously - and no plants have died. Wondering if anyone knows about the quality of this type of water and might it be used for Spot or Dick or Jane?
You can also use the water to flush the toilet. A home-made gray water system.
I think the key point to this tip is that the water while the shower is warming up, or flushing your toilet, is drinkable, potable water. Oil "shortages" are expensive. Water shortages are disasters.
Ideal Bite is starting to really bug me. Who is writing these tips now? Why write a tip and clearly intimate that you really can't see the point of it. And sharing that none of you bother to do it hardly gives your readers much incentive.
I live in a rainforest region of North America, but even here water is an issue in the summer, so I'm damn sure its a big issue in huge parts of the US. What's the big deal in putting a bucket in your shower (it's called 'not being pointlessly wasteful').
Get real people. We can carry on being wasteful until we're forced to stop, or we can embrace the SIMPLE little things and help avoid being forced to change.
Please change your writer/editor to someone who is not negative, or dismissive of the tips.
What a coincidence -- I was just reading about how to do a sitz bath (in Rosemary Gladstar's "Herbal Healing for Women"), which would involve having to purchase a bucket big enough to sit in. And the large Peaceful Valley Recycled Bucket from your tip will be perfect. I too have been resistant to collecting the cold shower water, but as long as I have a sitz bath bucket in the bathroom anyway...
I still love the Bite, even if I don't always agree with tip or comment... I suspect there are a lot of folks out there who benefit just from having any particular idea presented that they may not have previously pondered. I'm an old dog and I still have these "aha" moments when I finally see the connection between some actions and their impact that just never occurred to me before.
That said - Phil is right. "Waste not, want not" is not just a maxim of the past... it may be the only maxim of the future.
I live on the fringes of the Pacific NW and 85 inches of winter rain do not a wet summer make. This whole place is on fire right now and dry is an issue.
I have always emptied every partially filled water glass onto a plant or other use in the summer, houseplants in the winter, too. Water is very, very, very important resource. Forget oil - water makes the world function.
I recently posted to our blog about this very topic - I would love y'all to check it out:
http://simmonsnaturals.blogspot.com/
In my house I have a shower filter on a low-flow shower head and the water heats up pretty quickly - no waste. I'm renting for a while on a temporary assignment & the difference in this shower is HUGE! I fill up a 5-quart bucket and still get under barely tepid water to start my shower. At least the plants get plenty of water.
Sorry to double-post - I just wanted to add that I appreciate this tip because it's AFFORDABLE! I love Ideal Bite, but seriously, most of the products you suggest are pretty pricey.
One thing I do is empty my (pet) birds drinking water into a container (if they haven't pooped in it!) and then use that to fill the outside birds' birdbath.
I'd like to say that I really appreciate today's tip. There are times lately when I read the Bite and think it's just more advertising spam - we save the world by using less, not by going shopping!
Like many eco improvements, saving water in this way is a habit you can create. Once you've got past the initial annoyance, and (Heather) get used to the bucket in the bathroom, it's no longer an effort and you can go on to making some other change.
I'll actually be trying this tip!
I'm in an apt bldg and catch about a quart to a gallon of cold/cool water in old juice jugs or fast food plastic beverage cups before I hop in the
shower that I use to water my plants.
My dad has been collecting cold water in the bathtub for years, which I think he uses to flush the low-flow toilet that he grudgingly puts up with. :-P
Maybe I am just a fool who doesn't know enough about the mechanics of a toilet, but how do you use the bucket water to flush the toilet? I am a practicing "let it mellow"-er but haven't figured out this second step yet.
To flush the toilet, you literally just pour the water - say, 1 to 2 gallons - into the toilet, and gravity makes it all go down the drain. It's embarassing-ly simple.
Why would you start of a "tip" by saying you don't even believe in it. I was really surprised after reading this tip at the condescending tone of the Ideal Bite staff. I'm beginning to believe that not only does I.B. not practice what it preaches, but they also don't believe in it either. I was appalled to see that this was not the first insulting tip either... but the second! Furthermore making fun of reader suggestions is a slap in the face to your most loyal subscribers.
Off to find a new smart green newsletter!
One of our biggest problems is how much each of us consume in our daily life. This is a cheap and simple tip that anyone can do at home. Why Ideal Bite would make fun of its simplicity is beyond me. In addition you guys are trying to sign people up to distribute posters and postcards as "superbiters". There was no where to comment on that, but putting that much TRASH into our cities seems to go against your very message. Remember to REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE. Ideal Biter seem to bee quite the consuming consumers.
It is ridiculous to let Ideal Bite's "sassier shade" get in the way of serving up practical tips in a way that is actually likely to cause readers to change habits. The tone of this tip makes me, someone who is evidently a bit more radical than the Bite staff in that I'm excited (not reluctant) to give this a try, feel judged and frustrated. C'mon - we're on the same team! You folks have the power to redefine cool. Please don't abuse it. Heather, good for you!
I'm agree with Kelly who just posted. I think you are getting the tone sooooo wrong. The Bite is meant to be fun and that is really good, but poking fun at the people who already do this and questioning the point of even trying is dumb. Especially when saving water is so simple and so important.
Get a new editor, fast.
Okay I'm unlikely to put a bucket in my shower, I'm too lazy in the mornings. BUT I don't let the water run to warm up either. Do I get points for leaving a bucket OUTSIDE to catch rain water to help water my plants that are under the eaves? I also don't flush if I get up to pee in the night. TMI? lol Oh and another new one I do! When I clean my aquarium the water goes on the plants. I also collect my 'dirty' hermit crab water into a bucket and when it's full it goes on the plants.
Not all of these tips are something I would do but it makes me think more about ways to conserve.
A lot of the comments have given me ideas about more ways to save water.
Daethian, I think you should get a lot of points! And if you don't let the water run, you don't need the bucket. (Unless you want to try collecting the grey water from your shower by showering WITH the bucket. I think that sounds like an accident waiting to happen, though :-)
I agree with a few readers--why post a tip and announce you will not be doing it!!! Water is essential to EVERYTHING we do and consume. It takes about 470 gallons of water to make lasagna, garlic bread and a salad for one person.(see water inputs in california food production) To announce you will not be doing it shows a fatal lack of leadership on your part. Conserving water is everyone's responsibility.
I've just started doing in this in the last month and it takes about 3 gallons to warm up my shower. I hope everyone on the biter team starts doing this! California is in a drought and so is most of the country!
You guys are lame. :/ I'm sorry, but posting you do not do it yourself but tell others to do it? Yeah, sure. Whatever.
I love this tip except for one little detail. Being an animal lover, one thing I won't do is put tap water in my pet's dish. They get filtered water just like I do. Otherwise, what a great idea! Will do so tomorrow morning as it is watering day for my plants!
Thanks!
I actually started catching the warm-up water in a bucket and pouring on the plants, several months ago. I then remembered that when I lived in Burundi (that's in the middle of Africa, in case you were wondering) I used to 'shower' with just one bucket of water. I worked out that it was a big saving on water (and gas to heat the water, and electricity to run the exhaust fan in the bathroom) to run the warm-up water into one bucket and then fill another bucket to 'shower' from, using a big yoghurt pot to dump water over me in the bath. Obviously wouldn't work so well if we had a separate shower unit, but it works great now.
And ditto on all the encouragements to the writers of Ideal Bite to walk the talk!
Ya know gang, I really think the Biter Gang is ahead of most of us on conservation in general. If they don't put buckets in their showers, my guess is many of them already have low flow shower heads or something anyway. Perhaps we could forgive them this one?
Cherie, that's what I was thinking about pets. My cats are drinking water of the same quality I get. Plants are quite a bit different than our furchildren!
I conserve water by washing only my most crucial parts with a washcloth at the sink every day, taking a full shower only when I need to wash my hair, or truly get dirty.
It's a wonderful idea, but actually illegal in some localities. Definitely illegal in Colorado. Check this ignorant law out..(from Denver Water's website)
http://www.water.denver.co.gov/cons_xeriscape/conservation/FAQ_WestWaterLaws.html
no, sorry, i can't forgive you for this one.
you sound like every snotty, nasty, small minded kid/teenager/adult i've run into throughout my life who has made fun of me for making green choices that looked less than 'cool.'
this is about the most useful tip i have seen in a while. simple. free. and if everybody did it, we would save a good deal. oh wait, there's no real product promotion possible here except for a bucket....
i sometimes get the feeling that you all have never traveled anywhere outside of super developed countries. if you had, you would know just how precious fresh water is. you embody exactly what is wrong with america today; you won't do something unless it's easy and looks good. you don't see how your waste and over consumption of resources is causing problems felt all over the world.
if your readers care about this topic, well then isn't this what you should be talking about? what dictates your content? i don't believe you should ever underestimate the intelligence, compassion or dedication of your readers. we are supposed to all be on the same side. taking a tone like this is really counterproductive, and, well, bitchy.
so do us a favor, put a bucket under the spigot. when it gets warm, turn on the shower head. you shouldn't miss too many drops. if it's just too much of a bother, well, then maybe you can think about all the dehydrated children in africa who would love to have some of that drinking water you are just dumping down the drain.
I had my water tank retrofitted for a solar water heater. Now I receive hot water almost instantly, even though the shower is on the opposite end of the house from the tank. I suppose that a solar powered "tankless" heating system would also provide instant hot water.
After Florida's rebate and federal tax credit, the system ended up costing about $1200, and will pay for itself in monthly savings (25-30% of electricity bill) within four years. This makes it affordable for many, especially considering plans where the purchase is interest free if paid in full within 12 months.
Best of all, I'm grateful to lessen reliance on non-renewable energy. I only wish that I could afford a PV system to meet all of my power needs, especially now that FPL intends to build more nuclear plants in Florida. (Nuclear power is great environmentally, so long as the "plant" is operated and wastes "stored or recycled" 93 million miles away!)
And my lawn has been largely replaced by appropriate Florida native plants. Once established, they require no additional water, fertilizer, pesticides, etc., just seasonal rainwater.
Perhaps I should offer what little gray water (I turn off water while soaping up) I have to neighbors who still have a lawn.
My husband and I have been doing this for years, we use 1 gal. plastic vinegar or tea bottles (nice handle) and one is all it takes at the kitchen sink. we did the same in the tub. I started doing this when I taught 4th and 5th graders about water conservation and used a gallon bottle as a visual to show how much water is used. If the sink faucet uses 5 gal per minute, and you run the water for 5 minutes, 2 times per day to wash dishes, 7 days per week, (350 gal), 52 weeks...you get the picture and so did the students. and if it takes 1 gallon to heat the water and you save that gallon you can easily NOT WASTE 728 gal per year. And that is just the kitchen sink.
We use the water for plants, coffee and our dog,or put it through a Britta filter. Like all things, repetition produces a habit, then it is easy.
This is not cute, this is not trendy. It's disgusting and makes me really angry. How dare you "diss" what people are doing to try and save water for those others who are more concerned with their looks (yeah, I mean you fashionistas.) If you can't Bear a bucket in your shower, then why don't you go buy a pink corn plastic one, maybe that would fit with your color scheme. Do you like getting negative attention>? Are you that starved for quotes?
I was surprised to hear there might be a law in Denver against catching and using water as Cyndy posted. Despite strict rules for greywater use (many health related and understandable...some not so much), I was relieved to see this in the law:"However, Denver Water customers are encouraged to catch unused clear water in a bucket or other container as it comes out of the tap and then use this water once; to mop floors, refresh pet water or water plants. For example, try catching water that comes out before the shower water warms up and then use this water to flush toilets or rinse the shower."
The really spooky thing to me was this:"Colorado Water Law requires that precipitation fall to the ground, run off and into the river of the watershed where it fell. Because rights to water are legally allocated in this state, an individual may not capture and use water to which he/she does not have a right."
That's right folks, you do not have a RIGHT to the rainwater falling on your property because someone else OWNS it! Heck, if everyone caught every drop of rainwater the city (or water bottling plant) wouldn't be able to sell it back to you.
Watch for more laws of this nature in the future as fresh water becomes more dear.
What I don't understand about these laws that prevent greywater is the fact that most people will be using greywater to water their lawns and gardens (not sure what else you would be using it for). So most of it is going to end up back in the ground and on its way (eventually) to the rivers or underground water sources in the area, or am I missing something here?
Water laws are bizarre. These in CO date back to a time when we didn't need as much water as CA and so we gave it to CA.
Now we are paying the price. If they want to arrest me for catching greywater then they can bust down my doors. How stupid is it that I cannot catch rainwater because it belongs to something else? It takes 1 gallon of water in my kitchen sink before hot water flows through. You can believe I catch that too. I will use my shower water in a bucket for whatever I want to. I paid for it to come out of the tap and if I choose to reuse it, that's what I will do. I suggest people in California who are getting a lot of water from Colorado, do the same. Screw the water laws..they were written 100's of years ago when we weren't faced with the issues of today
A comment on grey water...there can be some problems with used water, - chemicals in the waste water - which can get into ground water. That said, it is true that many water laws are antiquated and need to be re-written. Clean water gathered from the tap should never be considered grey water. AND in my town I pay for sewage treatment on all the water that comes from my tap - even if it goes down the drain or into the ground, so you bet I am not going to let that first gallon of water be wasted waiting for hot water.
Please do not give your pets used water! If you wouldn't drink it, don't give it to your pets, or any other animal. Many people recommend that pets get filtered water, so used water would be really bad.
I like your site and tips generally. I think the writing is witty and sassy and I like this. I agree, you kinda sound snotty. Is it a big deal to put a bucket in your shower and dump it each night? For real? Who looks in your shower? Even if it is, don't write this because it just makes people pissed or annoyed at you. Unless your trying to do this, then write away.
I think all we can do is try and if we fail a day or two, so be it but try again. Overall, I enjoy your tips and think everyone's being a little harsh. Don't like something don't read it, eh?
I'm not sure if anyone else wrote this (sorry, didn't have time to read 43 comments) BUT another reason to run the water into a bucket is to save money. Most people may not remember but you pay for your water twice: to come out of the tap and to go down the drain (wastewater), so the less that goes down the drain, the less you pay. I live in the desert and during the summer months especially, this bucket water is invaulable!
I did try the bucket for a while, and found out that it takes so much time out of your day, time that you do not have: bucket full, ugly on the shower floor. You have to empty it, bring it back, and place it somewhere out of site. Next day, you need to start it over.
I will try to find that shower faucet that has temperature dial. It sounds so much more practical.
re dryer lint: do not use it as nesting material for birds! Once it's in the nest & gets damp, it lowers the temperature of both eggs & nestlings, just like people getting cold when they wear wet clothes.
Can you really compost lint? Lots of synthetic clothing materials if you have any standard clothing in there? Whats the story? I am going to ask my SF Dept. of Enviro lady too. Keep y'all posted.
I think the awareness about saving water is great, it is the first step. We just need to figure out how to pass the "bucket" stage... Does anybody know where can I get that faucet with temperature control?
standing by
What a topic! LOL.
Little Pixie Gifts
SF Dept. of Environment says laundry lint can go in the compost! Go for it! Another potential landfill clogger (albeit a small one) avoided.
For those of you out there who don't have time to bucket your shower water, there are lots of way you can do your part for water conservation efforts! Here's a new one: There is a program called 'Recycle for Water' that allows participants to recycle their old electronics AND donate the proceeds to NPO's like WaterAid and Global Water. Save hazardous waste from landfills and help provide those in need with clean potable water? Now there's an Ideal Bite! visit www.recycle4water.com for more information!
Thank you for the tip!
I like this tip, a simple way that anyone can do at home. Just figured out how you do it.
fairings
It's beyond me how this could be "inconvenient". I've been doing it for years: the preheat runoff in the kitchen is for watering houseplants, a quick rinse of the sink, to fill up something that's just going to soak, or for filling up the water pitcher (after it's come to room temperature). The shower I run into a big green watering can and then water the outdoor plants with it. This is mostly during the growing season when I have lots of potted plants on the deck, but even in the early spring or late fall, just dump it somewhere! Same with water for washing lettuce out of the garden--just open the back door and dump it on a tree or plant. How hard is that? And why does the bucket or whatever have to get "put away"? What the heck else are you doing in your shower that you can't leave a bucket sitting in it?
Anyone have any suggestions for an energy saving soft water system?
In response to a couple of early posts:
1. GI showers save oodles of water: turn off tap while soaping up or when conditioning hair and/or shaving legs
2. water from dehumidifier is distilled water but after sitting in tubes, etc. wouldn't drink but use for plants, steam iron
Try the 30 seconds less for your shower, too!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Jennie | July 25, 2008 at 05:50 AM