Blog Action Day: The Toilet will Teach Them
If it’s yellow, let it mellow
If it’s brown, flush it down.
This saying was believed to have been started by former (75-83) California Governor Jerry Brown as a way to conserve water. And I still see it around on different ‘œgreen’ blogs.
I was trying to figure out how much water is used in an average day, by figuring toilet flushes.
1 gallon water = .0075 ¢
Home Toilet = 1.6gallons per flush (gpf)
2 People flushing in a day = ~8 flushes = 12.8 gpf = .096 ¢
In a Year = ~4672 gpf = $35.04
It’s not a lot of money or water saved on the toilet. I thought about just going to work and using the toilets at work for 2 of my four flushes, but upon checking if the toilets at work were water conserving toilets, I found that they were not – 7 gallons per flush to my own itty bitty 1.6 gallons; so I’m back to flushing at home. Instead of grossing my room-mate out with ‘œmellowing yellow’, the best alternative would be to collect the shower water in a bucket and pour it down the toilet instead of flushing.
The main thing that I found in this house is not that the toilet wastes water and money (unless it runs constantly), but that the shower, dishwasher and clothes washer take up more of the water usage. (Unless, of course, you own a home and water the lawn.)
It is with those that I have determined to make sure the machines are full when in use and to use cold water when washing clothes. Instead of showers, a quick wash-up by the sink does a better job for me than jumping in the shower and turning the water on and off as I wash (getting cold in the process) ‘“ But it’s a work in progress as I figure out my comfort zone to reducing water waste, saving money and staying clean without grossing out my friends.
Additional Reading:
Free Ways to Save on the Water Bill
Video-water water and budgets
ABC’s of Water and Waste
Cold or Hot Water: Clean is Clean
What about you? What ways do you save on water?
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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com and is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years. Dawn can be reached at Frugalforlife@gmail.com
Mr. Micah and I apply that rule to our toilet too. I should really get into a shower habit I had for a few weeks. It involved using a basin of water in the bathtub. Running the water just enough to wet my hair, collecting some in the basin to wash and then having a quick rinse. Took 5 minutes of which the water only ran for 1.5 min – 2.5 min.
Yellow-Mellow Brown-Down is something we said up at my cousin’s cabin in the north of Wisconsin once upon a time.
The water basin in the shower method looks very conservative. I’d say it indicates of a strong commitment to reducing personal environmental impact.
I tried to do the whole not flushing toilet thing, but I never could reall get used to it. My small toilet at home probably isn’t as much of a water hog as the other ones I use. I think I will just stick to the bucket-in-the-shower method as well.