Well, judging by the numbers my first day of restricted water use has gone pretty well, I came in under quota at just over 11 litres. It would have gone even better if I hadn't unintentionally kept turning the tap on, very annoying. It is really surprising how much of a reflex action this is.
And what did I use my 11 odd litres of water for. It roughly slots into two areas, cleaning and sanitation.
Washing with half a litre of water was easy enough (for once I'm glad of my miniature sink) although it's only just sufficient for a quick splash clean. As this is the first day and I bathed last night, it's not too much of a hardship but I'm sure this will change soon.
Washing my teeth without a running tap was by far the most finicky of tasks. I'm currently wearing plastic teeth retainers to correct a collapsing tooth and they're really not easy to clean without the force of running water to remove sticky toothpaste. Hopefully they'll survive the week without getting too stained.
I managed to restrict myself to one toilet flush despite four trips during the day, as this is such a big extravagance there just isn't an alternative. It's not wholly pleasant, but certainly livable with and I haven't reached the stage of Glastonbury portaloo - yet.
I also ate cold food all day (cereal for breakfast, bread, cheese and ham cold cuts for dinner) so saved on any cooking water. The dishes are still sitting in the kitchen, but I figure it's best to wait for a large pile to develop to maximise the luxury of filling the sink (probably 8-10 litres at a guess).
My plan is to scrimp and save as much as I can in order to try and fit in one shower later in the week. That means saving at least 5 litres of water a day.
All the beakers and jugs have made me feel like I'm back at primary school on rainy day play times. I was a water addict then and used to love playing at the sinks moving water from one bottle to another.
In all honesty so far the impact has been minimal. My boyfriend commented that it will take a few days to kick in - when I need to wash clothes, or really fancy a hot cooked meal with fresh vegetables. I suppose anyone can survive a day or two of shortage without seeing major effect.
It is clear however that at these rations water can only be used for the most necessary of functions. The sink for example is already showing signs of grime gathering. I'd love to turn the tap on and get rid of this as I know it will stain as it builds up, but it's just not worth the aqua outlay.
So I guess it depends where you prioritise. A friend who I may visit at the weekend was horrified when I told her I might not have showered for a week. "Can't you just go thirsty?" she asked. Even if I could the 2 litres saved wouldn't add up to anything near enough for a good long scrub. Perhaps I won't be visiting after all!
Water used:
8 litres - 1 toilet flush
1.5 litres - drinking water
0.75 litre - washing teeth and retainers
0.5 litre - washing
0.25 litre - accidentally turned on tap to wash tooth brush
0.25 litre - accidentally turned on tap to wash spring onion
Total: 11.25 litres
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Water Week
H2O is the hot topic at casa Youle right now, as for one week only I'm living off African water rations in the name of cutting-edge journalism. A daily diary of my experiences and water usage will be kept here, and others may even log their thoughts on my increasing whiftiness.
In practical terms, my water allowance is 20 litres a day - the average for many Africans and probably some Gloucestershire residents at the moment. The normal daily water usage for a Londoner is about 160 litres, so the the numbers speak from themselves this is going to be a difficult adjustment.
When I started planning water week I had some worries - how often would I be able to shower, would I be able to cook pasta and rice as often as I usually do and would I need to invest in a new beaker for teeth cleaning? I don't have a car, or a dish-washer or a garden - surely this won't be too hard!
As my research continued, I realised the issues were going to be far more basic.
A bath uses 80 litres of water, a shower 35 - and that's for five minutes, not my usual splashingly long 20 minutes. Flushing the toilet once uses 8 litres of water, this made me panic. How was I going to survive on two toilet trips a day? Add two litres of drinking water to stay healthy and there's not much left to play with.
So I started body analysis. How many times a day did I go to the loo, never less than five after a few days counting. Oh dear! After discussions about whether I should increase my water supply (boyfriend - no that's what it's all about, what sort of journalist gives up when the going gets tough), I decided to go for the hard slog.
At best, I'm hoping to survive on one toilet flush a day and still wash occasionally. More than one person has already suggested that I should find a local park with bushy wildlife if the going gets really tough. I'm hoping it doesn't!
In preparation for the week ahead, I washed all my clothes this weekend and indulged in a long, hot bath yesterday evening. I know some might say this was cheating, but hell, I was already missing the blue stuff and thought I'd go out with a splash. I've also warned everyone I've spoken to that I might start to smell a bit by the end of the week, they have all been polite so far.
Armed with my measuring jug, an optimistic outlook and a new found respect for the amount of water I casually wash down pipes daily, the experiment has started. Watch this space.
In practical terms, my water allowance is 20 litres a day - the average for many Africans and probably some Gloucestershire residents at the moment. The normal daily water usage for a Londoner is about 160 litres, so the the numbers speak from themselves this is going to be a difficult adjustment.
When I started planning water week I had some worries - how often would I be able to shower, would I be able to cook pasta and rice as often as I usually do and would I need to invest in a new beaker for teeth cleaning? I don't have a car, or a dish-washer or a garden - surely this won't be too hard!
As my research continued, I realised the issues were going to be far more basic.
A bath uses 80 litres of water, a shower 35 - and that's for five minutes, not my usual splashingly long 20 minutes. Flushing the toilet once uses 8 litres of water, this made me panic. How was I going to survive on two toilet trips a day? Add two litres of drinking water to stay healthy and there's not much left to play with.
So I started body analysis. How many times a day did I go to the loo, never less than five after a few days counting. Oh dear! After discussions about whether I should increase my water supply (boyfriend - no that's what it's all about, what sort of journalist gives up when the going gets tough), I decided to go for the hard slog.
At best, I'm hoping to survive on one toilet flush a day and still wash occasionally. More than one person has already suggested that I should find a local park with bushy wildlife if the going gets really tough. I'm hoping it doesn't!
In preparation for the week ahead, I washed all my clothes this weekend and indulged in a long, hot bath yesterday evening. I know some might say this was cheating, but hell, I was already missing the blue stuff and thought I'd go out with a splash. I've also warned everyone I've spoken to that I might start to smell a bit by the end of the week, they have all been polite so far.
Armed with my measuring jug, an optimistic outlook and a new found respect for the amount of water I casually wash down pipes daily, the experiment has started. Watch this space.
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