From the Corner
-by Kelly Gunter
Because of all of the troubles with the falling ground water levels as cited in my last article, it is important to try and prevent wasting water. There is the possibility of using what is called "gray water", which is reusing the water that has once been used for the shower, bathroom sink, bathtub, dishwasher, and washing machine only if a plain soap has been used. The water is then customarily cycled through a gray water recycling system which will then make the water available for flushing toilets or watering non-edible plants. This process will usually reduce new water use by approximately thirty-five percent, the gray water recycling system costs around $200-$600, unfortunately this is also considered illegal to use in many states. I don't know why, but if your interested you might want to check and see if you are committing an offense.
However there are other ways of cutting down on your water usage. The average daily water usage indoors for a single person looks something like this:
- Toilet 24 gal. (30%)
- Leaky Toilets 4 gal. (5%)
- Shower & Bathing24 gal. (30%)
- Laundry16 gal. (20%)
- Dish washing 3 gal. (4%)
- Faucets 9 gal. (11%)
The first thing to consider is low flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets. A conventional faucet usually wastes 5-15 gallons per minute, while if you purchase an aerator it will typically use only 3 gallons per minute, and if you buy a new faucet it will probably only have a flow of about 2.75 gallons per minute. It is unnecessary to replace the the faucet completely, although the water efficiency is there. A faucet aerator is comparably efficient, and relatively inexpensive. As far as showers are concerned, a ten minute shower can waste as much as thirty gallons of water, however, a shower is far more water efficient than a bath. A low flow showerhead can save as much as 2-4 excess gallons a day. On a daily basis this can add up to 27 cents on water and 51 cents on electricity for a family of four in one day. Over the space of a year, this can save a couple hundred dollars. |
One of the largest wasters of water is the toilet. A typical toilet will flush five to eight gallons each time. In the case of the toilet you have several options on cutting down on the water usage. The most expensive of these, and life altering, would have to be the compost toilet. I've gone through a catalogue of these, and these things usually cost a couple thousand dollars and a huge project for installation. Although these use the least amount of water, they're also most likely not worth there price, much like those new electric cars. There are other toilets on the market, the low flow at about 3.5 gallons a flush and the ultra low flow at 1.5 gallons a flush. The ultra low flow is also very affordable. Probably not so affordable as college students, but as you move on and after the first twenty years of paying off your student loan, you can treat yourself, they are usually around a hundred dollars.
If buying a new toilet is out of the question, then consider the alternative. If you create some sort of barrier wall in the toilet to reduce the amount of water to fill the back of the commode then you can reduce the amount of water used drastically. Many books suggest putting bricks in the toilet, but they may have a tendency to crumble and ruin the pipes with bits of debris. You can fill old glass or plastic bottles with water, use caution when using plastic sometimes they just want to float and this won't do you any good, it may even prevent the valve from closing and will in turn waste more water. Another idea to bounce around the back of your head is the little phrase, "If it's yellow, let it mello. If it's brown, flush it down." I think you can figure out the meaning. Urine can go a longer time, not indefinitely, but a long time without causing any real problem. The uncanny product of your bowels is another thing entirely. You may at this point be thinking, "I can't do this, I live in the dormitories. Everyone will just think it's gross." Look on the up side, every one will think it's gross, and you'll always have a stall without stall, or at least that's usually the way it works in the girl's bathroom, |
I guess you really wouldn't have that problem in the "gents". If you are using this rule, it is usually best if you flush once before long intervals of non-use such as just before you go to bed.
There are some other important tips in conserving water. Don't let leaky faucets just run, in the course of a day you can lose as much as 100-200 gallons. When washing dishes, don't let the water run, this will waste about 15.7 gallons of water. It is important to note that in comparison to hand washing the dishes under running water, using most dishwashers will only utilize about 9.9 gallons. However an even more water efficient method of washing dishes is to fill a sink with water, wash all the dishes, refill the sink with clean water, and then rinse. When doing the laundry, always make sure you have a full load. And finally, when using the bathroom sink, only let the water run when it is directly being used. For the example of brushing your teeth, only run the water when you're rinsing your mouth and not while you're brushing.
If you follow these steps, you can ultimately reduce your water usage by about 30%, but over time this can certainly add up.
|
If you have any questions, comments, ideas, issues, or products you want me to discuss, or would like to write something up yourself, send all to kkg8006@ritvax.rit.edu
|
Survey Siege
week 5
The survey is now running onto it's fifth week. Ack! Survey...to hard...only two responses...must find answers.
"Would you rather cut sports programs or art programs in Public Schools?"
"Would you rather give your mother a dildo or a hickey?"
Send replies to GDT care of gdt@iname.com
|
|