Water

Some of my readers are in stick and brick homes and, I would wager, a lot of them think little when it comes to rationing or conserving water. The average American consumes or uses between 70 and 135 gallons a day. It is not a renewable resource. I have told the story repeatedly, but as early as my adolescence I was aware of the necessity to conserve water. My mother can attest to my sticking bricks in the toilet tank to reduce the volume of water used when flushing. I have also long maintained that the concern over the flight to the sunbelt states was moot, as water would soon dictate how much the land could support. Las Vegas and other cities and towns along the Colorado river are seeing that now. Enforced conservation is already taking hold in those areas.

 

Those of us living and working out of our wheeled homes in the oil patch know all about conserving water. One of the first things that gets a noobs attention out here is that what he sees in his tank is probably all he'll get for at least two weeks. The schedule and amounts vary, but tanks out here vary in size between 250 and 500 gallons. We still hear occasional stories of folks running out of water between deliveries. There are a wide variety of ways to make your allotment last. Here are some tips:

 

Take "Navy" showers, wet down and then shut off the water while you suds up, then turn the water back on for a quick rinse. You folks that are accustomed to running the water the whole time you shave or brush your teeth need to mend your ways.

 

Fill one of your pots with hot sudsy water and wash your dishes out of that, then turn the water on for a quick rinse.

 

Buy your own water pump if you have to. You don't need to put up with weak pressure and pulsating water (which inevitably makes it hard to control the water temp) if your pump is strong enough. You'll use less water to get the job done. An alternative is to use the often worn out supplied pump to fill your internal tank and use that for bathing and such.

 

We never saw the need for a washer dryer (and some companies discourage there use) till we got a gate that required a 150 mile plus round trip to get to the Laundromat. We are able to stay within our consumption limits and do two loads a week. I don't know if it's true, but I have heard that the "RV" washer dryers use copious amounts of water and don't work too well. We have a heavy duty, stacked apartment unit that is very miserly with the water.

 

Making a sweep at least daily to check all the connections and faucets for leaks is just good practice. You'd be surprised how much water you can lose in a short period of time from a small leak.

 

After spending some time "off the grid" you will be surprised by how little water you can get by with. I find myself, on the rare occasion that we have hookups, still standing in the shower with the water off. Old habits, and good habits, are hard to break.