One-FIFTH the water!

[bennelson]

Actually, I did take a look at composting toilets.

Two issues with them though.

One, I only have the one bathroom. It's not that big. There literally isn't room in there for a second toilet. (And no I wouldn't remove my "normal" toilet to make space for it, nor would I want a composting toilet in some other room.)

In my case, I needed to minimize the water OUTPUT from my house to save on the wastewater bill. By reusing laundry water in the toilet, I reduce the total amount of water used (as compared to doing laundry AND using tap water in the toilet)

If I simply ran my laundry water to the drain and used a composting or sawdust toilet, that would be that same amount of water. By reusing the laundry water to the toilet, I minimize water use but still have a "Normal" toilet.

Nice for when people come over to the house and I didn't have to tear up the bathroom or do any kind of remodel.

I think that in a new house or heavy remodel, it would be easier to design for composting toilets, extra water-saving devices, gravity fed systems, rain-water flushing, etc.

The book HUMANURE is a really good read. It will make you question how we deal with human waste. Anything by Art Ludwig on graywater and cisterns is also very good.

[JasonG]

The RV toilet just makes so much sense.
It made me sick to use 2 gal of fresh water to flush 1 cup of pee.
Wife didn't go for the Mountain/Fl Keeys saying "If its brown, flush it down, if its yellow, let it mellow"
The only must is that it goes to a tank then is sent down the drain in batches.
If you don't, the solids and paper will settle in the pipe as there is not enough water to clear the pipes.
Easy install if you have a crawlspace. Weekend project, no need to have the house tore up for weeks. Shouldn't take more than 4 hours with a helper.

[NeilBlanchard]

For us guys, we can use a waterless urinal. Dual flush toilet valves will reduce a (now mandated) 1.6 gallon flush toilet down to about 0.9 gallon small flushes. These valves are sold for under $20 at home centers.

Many new dishwashers use ~1/3 the water of average dishwashers. Ditto for front loading clothes washing machines. Low flow shower heads can drop the flow from ~3-4 gallons per minute to ~1-1.5 gallons per minute, and some of them have temporary shutoff valves on them so you can turn them off while you are washing, and then turn it back on again when you need to rinse.

There are now gray water systems that flush your toilet with the water you have already used once in the bathroom sink.

[bennelson]

Rather than buying some new components or replacing my toilet to save water, I slightly modified it.

On a typical toilet, the handle pulls the chain, which lifts the flapper. The flapper pivots up past 90 degrees, so it stays open when you let go of the handle.

I shortened the chain on mine so that the flap doesn't stay open.

This makes the toilet handle into a "momentary on" switch.

If you just want a little flush, press the handle down for a moment. Want a bigger one? Just hold it down longer.

This modification costs nothing, takes just a pliers and a couple of minutes to do, and is a great way to save water.

I've already got the front-loading clothes washer and water-saving showerhead.

The only other thing that I thought would be really cool is foot-pedals for my kitchen sink.

In grade schools and factories, they sometimes have these big hand-washing sinks that are activated by foot pedal. I thought it would be neat to rig up the kitchen sink the same way. Often, when washing hands or dishes, both hands are occupied, making it harder to turn the water on and off as needed. Because of that, the water ends up running more than it needs to. If I could turn the faucet on by pressing a foot pedal, and back off, just by letting off the pedal, it would free up my hands and save water.

[CFECO]

Great idea on the toilet valve. I have ALWAYS wanted a foot operated sink faucet valve.

[jakobnev]

I discovered a long time ago that on my toilet i could do a small flush by carefully pushing the button half way and releasing it quickly.

[SwamiSalami]

Originally Posted by bennelson

I only have the one bathroom.

One bathroom and all those cars!?!

[SwamiSalami]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

For us guys, we can use a waterless urinal. Dual flush toilet valves will reduce a (now mandated) 1.6 gallon flush toilet down to about 0.9 gallon small flushes. These valves are sold for under $20 at home centers.

Many new dishwashers use ~1/3 the water of average dishwashers. Ditto for front loading clothes washing machines. Low flow shower heads can drop the flow from ~3-4 gallons per minute to ~1-1.5 gallons per minute, and some of them have temporary shutoff valves on them so you can turn them off while you are washing, and then turn it back on again when you need to rinse.

There are now gray water systems that flush your toilet with the water you have already used once in the bathroom sink.

I looooooooove waterless urinals. How do they work, exactly? I know there's oil, which sets atop water and urine, masking the odor, but what beyond this. Like, where does my urine go, Neil?!

I love the grey water for the toilet, too.

[5.4]

My monthly usage was 12,000 gallons, now with less people its 2,000, that's more like it!

[trooper Tdiesel]

i know some one with a well pump, they have two power meters

the extra meter is over by his old rental, and all it powers now is the well pump.
hes low income and they are willing to wave the 8.00 a month fee for one of his two meters. so truly the only thing on the meter is the well pump and nothing else.

the power rate is 0.0607 cents, and it uses less than $3.00 a month all year.
most of the time its about 1.25 2.00 to run the well pump.

he pre-pays $20.00 once a year or so.

the pump is about 400 feet down, and is rated at 10 or 15 GPM its a 220V pump.

so worst case raise the power rate to 0.15 cents and that's like $15.00 a month

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as far as water at are place, its 15psi gravity with a 1 gpm recovery in the summer and a 1,700 gal holding tank.

for the garden, we have a pond that's about 1 acre and it can supply way more than we could ever need for the garden. granted its up hill so a small engine with a water pump is needed.