FOR many South Africans, especially residents of the Eastern Cape, low rainfall, water shortages and water restrictions are now more than just a harsh reality – it’s turned into a full-blown nightmare.
If you’re not already closing the taps when you brush your teeth or shave, and you don’t have a bucket in the shower to minimise the amount that goes down the drain, then you’re part of the problem. Here’s how you become part of the solution:
Tips for the household
How many times have you wondered just how to stick to 50F per person per day? Between washing your hands (a must with COVID-19 always underfoot), using the facilities, taking a shower, cooking, doing laundry… It seems like a lot to ask.
This is where that bucket in the shower makes all the difference. About half of any household’s water usage happens in the bathroom, most of it going down the toilet, in fact.
Here, greywater is your life preserver. About the only water in your house that you can’t re-use is the water from your toilet and the kitchen sink. The rest can be used to flush the toilet, water the garden, wash the car – you get the point.
Just don’t drink it!
Installing a greywater system at home doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Something as simple as the bucket system can make a big impact. And sticking to the number 50 becomes a lot easier.
Gardeners, go green!
Green is not a common colour in certain parts of the country anymore – not since hosepipes and sprayers were practically banned, anyway. But why should that stop you?
The bucket system is good for more than just flushing a toilet, you know.
You have the option of installing a more complex system that will redirect greywater straight to your garden.
This will most likely contain a filter that will remove the worst of the hair and soap before it reaches your plants.
The tricky part about greywater is that you should use it within 24 hours or it might go bad.
The same is not true for rainwater, which you can store in tanks for some time and still direct straight to where you need it to go.
If you’re planning on using the water in a vegetable or herb garden, it is especially important that your system has a filter.
Generally tough, drought resistant plants would be ideal to use greywater on. These include olive trees, rosemary, bougainvillaeas, lavender, Italian cypress, irises and petunias.
In short:
- Greywater is your friend – especially to keep to the 50F per person per day rule.
- Don’t re-use the water from your toilet or kitchen sink. Stick to the water from your shower, and rainwater when possible.
- Use greywater within 24 hours.
- If you’re an avid gardener, use these tips to literally ‘go green’ again.
