Saving water with water (bottles)
As well as trying (and hopefully recommending) Wikaniko’s eco products, I’m also implementing some of their excellent but simple green environmentally-friendly tips.
It need not cost any money to become more environmentally conscious, we don’t just want to sell stuff, we want to help everyone become greener (and hopefully save some money along the way).
In our new (to us, actually old) house we have some rather fetching “vintage” toilets in a colour that almost defies definition it is so… well… unique. They’re definitely not marigold or lemon yellow, more on the lime/khaki side of yellow (?) basically, they’re sort of a creamy custardy shade of Dijon mustard. Very special and I’m sure incredibly valuable should we ever decide to part with them.
Let alone their unappealling look, they are also very water-hungry. It is easy enough to turn a blind eye to this, sometimes if home alone or it’s night-time, we don’t bother flushing between pees. A rather inconsistent, haphazard and lax approach!
So we now have old bottled water bottles, filled with water, in the toilet cisterns. The team at Wikaniko suggest a 1.5 litre bottle but either our cisterns are on the small side already or the gubbins inside is not very effectively laid out, either way, we’ve had to settle for a couple of 500ml bottles. Better than nothing!
On behalf of my “better” half, I confess that this has resulted in the occasional double-flush being required (I shall leave that to your imaginations) but on the whole I think we’re using less, actually I should think considerably less, water.
Water saving fun
If you’ve a got a youngster to entertain, make some raincatchers a la Cbeebies – another great use for empty plastic bottles of all types – good for building awareness of how we can reuse rainwater effectively and a managable sized container for your little one to use to water the plants once you’ve measured how much rainfall you’ve had!
Sod the water, save your pocket!
There’s an interesting article in the resources section of the Wikaniko website called £1000 water bills which sounds a tad sensationalist but makes quite grave reading with huge price hikes predicted across most, well practically all, water companies in the next several years.
With so many eco/climate change/green issues, let’s be honest: we’re all a bit fatigued. Those doubts start to creep in – it’s another way to make money, to tax us, to get us buying more stuff – and however altruistic we might like to be, it’s easy for our enthusiasm to burn out (and fair enough).
Throwing money down the drain has never been one of my favourite past times, or that of anyone I know. Gearing up to be as water efficient as you can be, ready for an inforced installation of a water meter, might be the best money-saving decision you make in a long time.
If, like my better half, you need a nice shiny new gadget or accessory prior to getting motivated, then check out the other water-saving gadgets in the Wikaniko shop:
Tap into savings
Tapmagic is a unique water saving tap insert offering dual flow: open the tap a little to get a strong but water-saving spray using over 50% less water – great for handwashing, especially with little kids who like to take their time – opening the tap further bypasses the spray mode to fill the basin as normal.
These are suitable for hot and cold water applications and for mixer taps. Easily removed for cleaning and de-scaling if required, and there are various sizes/fits to suit whichever taps you have in your home.
Spraymagic is a slightly different and no less unique water saving tap insert which permanently converts a threaded round outlet tap to a water saving spray saving approximately 70% of water and of course energy for heating. This is ideal for places where there is no plug in a basin where whatever water is supplied runs away…
Don’t feel drained
And for the gardeners amongst us, the rather ingenious RAIN-SAVA fits into a standard UK drainpipe/downpipe – can be installed by the less-DIY-enthusiastic in no time at all – and can then be connected to a water butt or other watering system. The flexible outlet means it can be connected to a multitude of pipes and hoses if you want to store water somewhere else in the garden, away from the house.
Rather cleverly, it has a built-in automatic overflow device to divert water back down the drainpipe when your water butt is full and it also has its own leaf trap. Everything is provided in the kit, including adaptors to accommodate the various drainpipe sizes (whether round or square), a linking pipe to the water butt and a water barrel coupling. Full instructions with a template to take the guessing out of cutting are also provided.
I think I’ve left it a little late to add this to my Christmas list but I’ll be treating myself to one in the summer!
