Grey Bathwater and Conservation

I was in kindergarten before we got running water, a real bathtub and flush toilet in our house.

I remember my mom pumping water with a hand pump in the kitchen from the cistern (concrete basin that collected rain water) to use for our baths. She heated the water on the stove and mixed it with cool water in the galvanized tin tub in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Because I was the oldest and usually cleaner than my two younger brothers, I got to bathe first. A kettle of warm water was added with each grubby body, but it wasn’t dumped and refilled each time.

You can imagine what that water looked like when we were done – gray!  It was tossed out into the peonies and lilac bushes along the house. Although we did not pay a ‘water bill’ on the farm at that time, we sure were “getting our money’s worth” from a few gallons of water.

My dad used to tell me that the water I was drinking might have been Cleopatra’s bathwater. 

EWW! 

He was trying to teach me that all water circulates throughout the world through the hydrologic cycle. And, that I should be grateful for the way the planet so expertly filters it so we can have clean water to drink. 

His story made an impression on me about how important our water supply is and how connected we are, wherever we live. He was an adamant water conservationist and would suggest contests as to who could use the least amount of water brushing their teeth or who could take the shortest showers. I usually managed to win the toothbrushing contest once in a while.  

But any motivation to take a short shower was lost to this teenage girl.

As a youth, I was frequently in charge of laundry for our farm family. We had lots of dirty clothes and went through lots of water. We recycled the rinse water from the washing machine as wash water for the next load. The washer would pump the rinse water into a tub and syphon it back in for the wash cycle on the next load. I didn’t know at the time that this is what is called a grey water practice.

When the power goes out, I still save the water in the bathtub after our shower and use it to  pour-flush toilets. The  drought has raised our awareness about conserving water. How are you using grey water? Please share your comments below, and here. 

Kristi Cooper
ISU Extension & Outreach Family Life Specialist, Linn County