Conserving Water When You Are a Full-timer
03-09-2016
Conserving water has become mandatory for almost all of the Californians I know and living the drought life is not always easy or fun. If you are a full-time RVer and you enjoy boon-docking, you already understand the importance of conservation. Here are some tips to help your water supply last through your next trip as well as conserving water for the future of our planet.
Drinking Water
Drinking water has become a designer thing these days with all the numerous companies putting H2O in fancy bottles. This has given us all the taste of “pure” water, but is it really any different? I can tell you as a child we drank from the hose, but sitting back with ice cold “Fiji Water” bottled water is a very liberating experience. In all seriousness, the water that is most often used in your grey tank doesn’t always taste very well. To avoid that, stop by your local water store and fill up a separate drinking water container that can be easily stored. For less than $5.00, you can fill your drinking water container and save your grey tank water for showering and bathroom stops.
Household Chores
Rather you are on an outing or living life as a full-timer there will always be chores to be done. Dust and dirt still need to be wiped away from your living area and dishes still need to be done. Swifter mops are great for mopping up the floors and Clorox wipes are great for wiping down any surface. When doing dishes use a catch in your sink to keep the water from going down the drain. That water can be used for other things, especially if you wipe the food away from your dishes with a sturdy paper towel and are simply using that water to rinse the dishes. When washing the dishes use a mild soap to lather them up while the water is off and then rinse. Lather then rinse, lather then rinse…
Personal Care
When it comes to personal care, I do not like to skimp, but when you are conserving water you must put in some extra effort. When brushing your teeth never leave the faucet running. That is mostly common sense but a lot of people forget just how much water that uses. It is the same for washing your hands lather up with water off and rinse quickly. If you really think about it you can do the same in the shower. Plus, most hand held showers have an on/off switch or button that will allow you to stop the water flow without compromising the water temperature. So you can lather and rinse without freezing or burning. There are also solar bags that can be set out in the sun to warm the water. That water can be used when you bathe without waiting for water to warm up and wasting more water.
Water conservation is important to the environment, rather you live in a home or a home on wheels. Taking a few minutes to plan your water usage will go a long way to help you conserve water for your trip as well as for the future. The key thing is to remember that you can do a lot of things without having the water running. So no matter what you are using the water for, my suggestion is to always remember to lather then rinse, lather then rinse. Happy trails!
For More Info on Conservation While RVing Check out:
Solar Power in your RV (part 1)
Drinking Water
Drinking water has become a designer thing these days with all the numerous companies putting H2O in fancy bottles. This has given us all the taste of “pure” water, but is it really any different? I can tell you as a child we drank from the hose, but sitting back with ice cold “Fiji Water” bottled water is a very liberating experience. In all seriousness, the water that is most often used in your grey tank doesn’t always taste very well. To avoid that, stop by your local water store and fill up a separate drinking water container that can be easily stored. For less than $5.00, you can fill your drinking water container and save your grey tank water for showering and bathroom stops.
Household Chores
Rather you are on an outing or living life as a full-timer there will always be chores to be done. Dust and dirt still need to be wiped away from your living area and dishes still need to be done. Swifter mops are great for mopping up the floors and Clorox wipes are great for wiping down any surface. When doing dishes use a catch in your sink to keep the water from going down the drain. That water can be used for other things, especially if you wipe the food away from your dishes with a sturdy paper towel and are simply using that water to rinse the dishes. When washing the dishes use a mild soap to lather them up while the water is off and then rinse. Lather then rinse, lather then rinse…
Personal Care
When it comes to personal care, I do not like to skimp, but when you are conserving water you must put in some extra effort. When brushing your teeth never leave the faucet running. That is mostly common sense but a lot of people forget just how much water that uses. It is the same for washing your hands lather up with water off and rinse quickly. If you really think about it you can do the same in the shower. Plus, most hand held showers have an on/off switch or button that will allow you to stop the water flow without compromising the water temperature. So you can lather and rinse without freezing or burning. There are also solar bags that can be set out in the sun to warm the water. That water can be used when you bathe without waiting for water to warm up and wasting more water.
Water conservation is important to the environment, rather you live in a home or a home on wheels. Taking a few minutes to plan your water usage will go a long way to help you conserve water for your trip as well as for the future. The key thing is to remember that you can do a lot of things without having the water running. So no matter what you are using the water for, my suggestion is to always remember to lather then rinse, lather then rinse. Happy trails!
For More Info on Conservation While RVing Check out:
Solar Power in your RV (part 1)
Solar Power in your RV (part 2)
The Benefits of Using a Hydro-Hot System
Comment
geoffgo4itApril 30, 2018 | 11:16 AM
Perhaps the writer should spend more time in an RV. Nobody in their right mind would drink water from a "grey" tank! That holds wastewater from sinks and showers. The fresh water tank is called the "Fresh Water" tank! An additional way to save water is to place the water from the sink after washing up in a bowl into a big jug, take that jug to the toilet area and use that to flush the toilet. It saves fresh water and helps equalize contents in the black and grey tanks to prolong holding capacity.
Author: Tammy Daly
