It Started With One Gallon Of Water

**Must-Stash** · 03-14-2009, 01:57 PM

I'm working hard at holding myself accountable and responsible by not wasting anything I can find other uses for.

It just kills me that my water heater is so far from my kitchen faucet that it wastes one whole gallon of soft water before the water is hot enough to start the dishwasher, or put to use in any other way where hot water is required.

Back in December I started saving milk jugs as they became empty and ran the water into them. For a while I could keep up with them by using them to fill the water dish for the dogs, watering plants, cooking applications, the soaking and hand washing of delicates, even heating the water to wash pots and pans that don't fit in the dishwasher.

In a couple months I'll be able to use up the water for my container garden. Until then I'll just keep storing the ever growing number in a cool place.

What other application, short of stockpiling even more, can I use this for in order to have a rotating fresh supply that doesn't get too far out of hand or go down the drain?

**sabrelvssammy** · 03-14-2009, 02:07 PM

catch it and put it in the back of the toilet tank between flushes....that's what we do....

can you get to your water heater pipes? if you put pipe wrap on your line that feeds 'out' as far as you can (gas water heater...make sure you put it at least 6 inches from the 'vent' at the top of the heater)....electric you are fine.....then the water says 'warmer' longer in these wrapped pipes for the next time you 'draw' on it...doesn't take as long for 'hot' water to reach tap....

**ladytoysdream** · 03-14-2009, 02:28 PM

How about your washing machine ?

And I thought using it in your toilet was a good idea too.
Some toilets will flush with smaller amounts of water, so you may not have to use what is in the tank, if you have some water jugs sitting nearby ready to go.

Do you wash your vehicle at home ?

This is really hard for me to think about, as we have our own well, and don't have to pay for water. I still try to be careful with water though.

**missyali** · 03-14-2009, 09:20 PM

I was catching the water from my shower to flush b/c we have the same problem with the tank being so far away from the faucet. I need to get back on that. Thanks for the reminder. I do have a few five gallon buckets in the basement in case of a power outage and we need something to flush our toilets with.

**Jilly** · 03-14-2009, 10:48 PM

I have the same issue with my water temperature. I don't salvage the water the way you do, it just runs out the drain until it gets hot enough to use. I read somewhere about buying a water heater cover. They're sold at Lowe's and HD and are supposed to keep the tank insulated and thereby use less time to heat the water. Has anyone used one of these covers or know anything about them?

**ladytoysdream** · 03-15-2009, 08:53 AM

I experimented yesterday.
I took a pot into the bathroom and measured off 2 quarts of water in it from the sink. It was plenty enough to flush the toilet.
You may want to experiment with yours. I don't know what the minimum of water, it would take to flush a toilet.
If it had some solid in there though, I would definitely use more to make sure it flushed okay.

**Debbie-cat** · 03-15-2009, 09:25 AM

These are great tips everyone! I have the same problem with my water at the kitchen sink, the water has to run for about 2 minutes before it is hot! We are on a well so it isn't the price for water but the price for electricity to pump the water out of the well and out of the septic. I am going to think about these ideas a little more. Thanks for the thoughts!

**MoonMommy** · 03-15-2009, 10:01 AM

Great ideas about using the extra water for flushing or putting it in the washer machine. All you villagers ROCK.

**Grainlady** · 03-15-2009, 11:21 AM

I'm a water saver too, and identify with Must-Stash completely. We have some other uses for saved water not mentioned. We have to run the water in the kitchen until it's hot, or we'll never get even warm water in the washing machine (which is in the next room).

Our first and daily use for saved water is for doing dishes and general clean-up after meals. I use a small plastic tub for doing dishes, rather than the sink. It takes us approx. 1-gallon to do any dishes that don't go in the dishwasher and clean-up.

I heat about 5-cups of water in an electric kettle (saving having to crank on the water heater to get the hot water and yet MORE water for storage). With that amount of hot and about the same amount of cold, that's what we use for dishwashing. As long as you wash the dishes in hot water, you don't need to rinse them in hot. I emphasize an electric kettle because they are the least expensive way to heat water - even faster than a microwave (for the 5-cup amount) or a kettle on a stove. Because the heating element is in contact with the water in an electric kettle, it heats it super-fast. A kettle on a stove (gas or electric) must first heat the kettle, as well as heat loss to the air and outside of the kettle, THEN the water begins to heat - so a kettle on a stove is completely inefficient.

Saved water is also used for the water distiller (which takes 1-gallon at a time and I distill 1-3-gallons per day.

I tend to fill a gallon container, then when I have extra, I put it in 3-gallon jugs. I can lift 5-gallon jugs, I just have trouble controlling them for pouring from, so I use a lot of 3-gallon jugs and keep 5-gallon jugs in storage.

The stored water is on racks in the basement (the racks look like this: http://www.stacksandstacks.com/5-gal...ottle-storage/) that hold three 5-gallon bottle of water for emergency use. We have 4 of those stands.

So those are a few more uses for saved water.

**sabrelvssammy** · 03-15-2009, 11:22 AM

jilly- a water heater blanket will only keep the water in the tank hotter so it doesn't take as much energy to keep it hot.... the problem everyone is having is the heater is so far away from the source of release (the water faucet) that the water takes awhile to reach it....

think about it like this...when you turn on your water it is drawn from the tank to the faucet....when you turn the faucet off (after you get your water)..the water in the lines do not 'fall' back into the hot water tank...it sits in the lines...now all that hot water is allowed to 'cool' in the pipe because of the surrounding air temps... it is no longer insulated and re-heated like in the tank....so when the tap is turned back on...all that water ahead of the hot water has to be released out ...it comes first...then the hot water from the tank....so it is the 'original' hot water drawn from the last time you turned on the tap....but now it is cold....

so you have already paid to heat this water...its cool now...can't do anything about that part....unless you wrap the pipes with heat tape (and you don't have to use the 'wrap' tape...you can get the things that look like the 'swim' noodles...the long styrofoam looking things...but these are split up the side and you just snap them on the pipes)...the purpose is they keep the pipes insulated so that the water will stay warmer and when you open the hot water tap not as much water will be wasted before you feel the warmer water coming out....

as for saving the water for the back of the toilet tank...if you turn off the supply line (the little faucet under the toilet bowl that feeds the water to the tank) then use the water that you 'caught' from the faucets by pouring it into the tank each time you flush....the tank won't re-fill by the supply line it will fill by the water you are putting in it... because you have shut the water off...if you fill it all the way to the water line mark then it will be a 'true&proper' amount of water to 'clear' out the toilet.... when you run out of water to pour in each time...turn the faucet back on until you have a 'supply' again from the faucets....if you catch the water each time you can just put the filled jugs beside the toilet to pour in....

another place to use the water is if you are a coffee drinker...put in the maker for next use....
just keep a jug or pitcher nearby and catch whatever comes out and hang onto it....you'll find a place for it eventually.....

**madhen** · 03-15-2009, 11:28 AM

My water in the kitchen gets hot fast, but my upstairs bathroom takes AGES. I will have to try putting a bucket under the shower to see how much water is wasted before it gets hot. It literally takes over five minutes for the hot water to get there. When I first bought the house, I thought the hot water was off, because we turned the spigot and and waiting a LONG time, and the water was still ice cold. I do try to catch the sink water for watering the plants upstairs, but never really thought about the shower. Thanks for the thought!

**Must-Stash** · 03-16-2009, 01:13 AM

Debbie-cat, you're so right. We have a well too. Every time the water pump kicks on it's literally money down the drain.

**Must-Stash** · 03-16-2009, 01:27 AM

Grainlady, I'm in awe of all you know and do. Thank you for sharing. I have one or two electric coffee percolators from the 70's down in the basement. I'll check to see if they're a suitable alternate to the electric kettle.