Raleigh, North Carolina.  A rainstorm … one drop at a time!  Chinese water torture is where a person in tied down and driven mad by dropping water in the same place on his/her forehead - one slow drop at a time.  At my house we played a version of that game Wednesday evening.  To say that we need rain in like saying the Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground.  The heat during the day was a blistering 105 degrees! During the afternoon the TV stations warned of a line of thunderstorms that were going to come through the area at about supper time with high winds, tremendous lightning and frog strangling rain.  They were right!  The lightning was unbelieveable, the winds were incredible, the rain fell in torents - - - in some places.  At our home we heard the thunder, saw the lightning, experienced the winds and - - - our deck didn’t get wet.  If the Chinese had wanted to drive us mad they would have had to bring their own water!  Come to think of it, “Chinese, if you want to bring water to my house - y’all come!!!”

Yesterday I talked about saving water in the kitchen. Today, let’s talk about saving water in the bathroom.  We don’t want you getting stinky but shortening your shower by one or two minutes can save up to 700 gallons per month.  Attention SiFi fans. The Triffids will march on your home for that much water!  I know we love those pizza pan size shower heads but come on! While you are at this business of saving water, install flow restricting shower heads.  My wife uses a soap that makes her so slippery that if I grabbed her when she was latered up she would bounce around the bathroom like air coming out of a balloon.  With that kind of soap you may need more water.  Incidentally, water restricting shower heads can save another 500 to 800 gallons per month. 

Now, you are standing in the tub stark naked.  The water is pouring out of the faucet and you are gingerly flicking your big toe in and out of the stream waiting for it to get warm before turning on the shower.  No, I am not suggesting that you get in the shower and play soldier.  Your screams would be heard a block away and probably get someone in your house arrested.  I am suggesting that capturing that water in a bucket or two would save 200 to 300 gallons a month all of which could be used on your lawn or plants without getting the authorities on your case.  As to nosey neighbors, that’s something else again.  I know it sounds like a lot of bother but we are supposed to be adults and responsible citizens and from time to time we need to act like it.  Turn off the water rather than letting it run while you wash your teeth.  That saves another 3 gallons a day.  If you wouldn’t get a saving from that either way  your breath is probably not kissing sweet.  Now, about your toilet (how’s that for a bridge). Bill Cosby does a routine about toilet bowls when one is tipsy that will leave you gasping for breath - - and not from the aroma.  But, I digress.  Fill a plastic bottle with pebbles and water a put it in the tank.  You use less water with each flush and this, depending on how many times a day you trot to the pot, will save 10 or more gallons a day and 500 or more gallons per month.  When you need to replace a toilet or if you are building a new home, I would suggest you get information about the water saving types of toilets.  We installed three in our home about three years ago and they work very well.  Let me put that another way.  The parts work as well as any other toilet which isn’t saying all that much.  The mechanics of toilets hasn’t changed much since they were invented - but that’s a post for another time and if you have a toilet you know what I am talking about. 

A couple of other ways to save goodly amounts of water are: (1) Wash your car with a bucket or two of water and give it a quick hose rinse.  That can save up to 150 gallons per wash.  (2) Run only full loads in your washing machine and dishwasher.  That can save from 300 to 800 gallons per month.

How does the joke go about government spending?  “If you save a billion here and a billion there, after awhile it amounts to real money!”  If you add up all the water saving that is possible in from the above mentioned items, it amounts to a rather staggering amount for your home.  If you multiply that by your block, your subdivision, your city, your county on a daily, weekly, monthly basis - it’s a bunch!!  In those part of the U.S. where water conservation is GREATLY needed it isn’t hard to see what a difference this could make.  Is everyone going to do it?  No!  But if even a few do it will help.  I hope I haven’t been whistling in the wind.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: wwwJohnFish.com 

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Record Heat Bakes the Area.  It appears that August may turn out to be both the hotest August and the hotest month in Raleigh’s history.  That is an honer we could well do without.  Raleigh, Wake County, most of North Carolina and indeed many other states are having moderate to severe dought and water problems.  Water conservation is the name of the game and there are many things that everyone can do to help “take the heat off” of the situation.  

With regard to saving water, taking care of mundane matters can be very helpful.  So please, no “everybody knows that” comments.  The more you look into this matter the more ways you can find to help and the more interesting it gets.  You may well know these things but do you practice them and do you know the water amounts involved?  Let’s start with a couple of ”biggies”.  If you are in the process of building, or getting ready to build, a new home permeable pavement and pavers can really help take a load off of storm drains and help reduce polution that goes into lakes or reservoirs when it does rain.  Rain on the roof runs down the drive into the street, down the storm drain and carries with it, into the lake, tar, oil, asphalt, and other poluting things.  Pavers allow much of this water to percolate into the soil which keeps the lawn in better condition and cleans the water the way nature intended.  Single-unit washer/dryers are front-loading machines that both wash and dry clothes.  They save both water and energy compared to separate units.  At this point I have not checked into Consumer Reports to see what, if anything, they have to say about such machines.

Kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms within a home are the where our real water savings come from.  Depending on how a garage is used, it can also be an area where considerable water savings can be had.  Today, lets start with the kitchen.  Whoever draws the short straw and has to wash the dishes, wash them by hand.  Use the least amount of detergent you can as this helps to minimize the rinse water needed.  Don’t let the water run when you rinse.  If you have two sinks wash in one and fill the other with water for rinsing purposes.  If you have only one sink use a spray device with short spritzes.  Doing this can save from 200 to 500 gallons a month!  When you are cleaning your veggies don’t let the faucet run.  Wash them in a filled sink or a large pan.  This saves another 150 to 250 gallon per month.  Running water is often used to defrost frozen foods.  Don’t do it.  Either place them in the frig overnight or defrost (where possible) in the microwave.  This is good for another 50 to 150 gallon saving.  Use the garbage more and the garbage disposal less - if at all.  This saves 50 to 150 gallons a month.  Add it all up and these water savings range from 450 to 1,050 gallons.  Oh yes, you might take a look at what your cost per gallon is and see what amount of dollars you would save as well.  TIP - my wife freezes a substantial amount of our garbage in plastic bags all during the week.  It takes care of most of what would otherwise go down the disposal, gets rid of the odors, the bags go easily into our main garbage bags during pickup day and most certainly helps give a breath of fresh air (or at least fresher air) to our garbage pickup people.  Tomorrow, water saving in the bathroom.

John Fish (919) 696-3474  Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com  Website:www.JohnFish.com