Flushing Away Our Money
In writing this article, I want to raise a question regarding an area of what I believe to be extreme waste. If viewed from the lens that looks at a single individual, this waste is somewhat inconsequential, however when regarded in the context of the millions of men who needlessly flush toilets several times each day, in water restricted areas, it is a serious concern indeed.
I want to ask, "Why do we not have urinals in our homes?" There are reasons why I believe that question needs to be asked.
If men are forced to use a toilet to urinate, then the amount of water necessary to flush a bowel movement, will be expended every time a man only urinates. This is an extreme waste!
- Since urine is a liquid, it can be flushed through a much smaller drain area. Subsequently, with a substantially reduced P-Trap, a thorough and sanitary flush can take place with as little as 1 to 2 ounces of water(requires a fine spray application). This amounts to at least 60 flushes per gallon of water!
- Since urine does not contain the bacteria that fecal matter does, it does not need to go into the waste system or septic tank. It could be routed separately and discharged into a compost pile or small pile of leaves or wood chips where it would quickly and harmlessly break down and dissipate into the soil.
- Since we are transporting a liquid, the cost of additional "drain line" would be very low because the diameter could be kept very small. Fish aquarium hose would even be adequate in some cases.
- Larger amounts of urine, as would be produced in larger buildings or other places where men congregate, could still be organically processed in an efficient manor. If not already done, experiments could show how much urine could be effectively "composted" utilizing what materials. By directing the urine to a point beneath the surface of the material, all odor could be kept within the material until the necessary chemical processes to eliminate the odor had taken place.
What if 1/4 of the time that we ran water in our homes, we used only 1/20 of what we had been using? That would amount to a water usage reduction of nearly 25% !
That means that a municipality that consumes 1,000,000 gallons of water or a period of time, would only consume 750,000 gallons!
Here is how that could very easily and realistically occur . . . and there would be resulting energy savings on hot water energy costs as well.
1. Washing and Rinsing dishes in the sink: If water was dispersed as a fine spray rather than as running water, dishes could be rinsed as a WIN WIN WIN. A. Far less water is used when sprayed B. Dishes would rinse faster on top of that C. Less hot water would be consumed. (You are wasting water if all you have is a good aerator!)
2. Washing hands or brushing teeth or any other general running of water in a sink would be done more effectively and use a mere fraction of the water at the same time.
3. Even if you already use an energy efficient shower head, you are still using as much as ten times the water you need to, to take a totally thorough shower. By minimizing the spray even further (as what you see in a garden sprayer) you could dramatically reduce the amount of water expended in a shower . .. and because of how it is dispersed, it would be at least as effective in covering your entire body and rinsing away soap, if not much more.
The only problem with this, and it is significant and has to be addressed (but can be), is that the finer the spray, the more heat it looses between the shower head and your body.
All you have to do to overcome that is to create a far better insulated shower environment by using a thick multi-layered insulating shower curtain, spraying foam insulation behind the walls of your shower stall, and if possible . . . installing some sort of a drop ceiling over the shower so that the heat stays right where you are. The smaller and more confined the shower space, the easier it is to keep the area hot, and then your water will not give up its heat as readily. If you are honest, the shower is one area that you would not feel too cramped if it was only half the size of what it is now, many would find it to be even cosier.
The only other major issue that would come up is the higher incidence of mineral build up effecting the sprayer heads, but there are excellent products to deal with that on occasion as needed, and spray heads can be easily removed, cleaned, and replaced without any plumbing knowledge.
Let us know what you think or if you have any comments or further ideas on this subject.
