Running the hot water tap!

[Elizabeth]

How much water do you pour down the drain before the hot water turns up?

Not a question for those who wash and wash up in cold water!! or have one of those instant water heater things!!!!

I'm concerned that when I want hot water in the kitchen I have to waste a lot of water.......... trying to come up with an in expensive way to resolve this. I only boil the kettle with the exact amount of water I want - so I can't fill the kettle! Not sure if you can use the water from the hot water tank for drinking/cooking anyway? even if boiled??

I always wash the glasses first so that I can rinse them before finishing running the water into the bowl. I also never add cold water, having made sure that I use the initial cold water - does that make sense? Also any pre-washing (getting rid of the worst - looking forward to needing a pig bucket!) I carry out with the initial cold water.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

[ina]

You seem to have covered a lot already - I used to do the same (when I had hot water in the kitchen). You could also fill the watering can for your houseplants with the initial cold water, maybe.

[prison break fan]

I like the idea of saving the water for the house plants. Why didn't I think of that? pbf

[Elizabeth]

Indoor plants are a good idea................but! I try to water them with rain water and I only have 2!

[MuddyWitch]

We use our pre-hot stuff to flush the loo, by catching it in a watering can. Our downstairs loo is quite close to the kitchen and the top off the cystern is easy to lift off.

MW

[Thomzo]

Hi
I have a similar problem in that my kitchen sink is a long way from the water tank so it takes a long time to draw off the cold. I do keep a watering can nearby but have loads of houseplants so that works well for me.

I like the idea of using it to flush the loo. A simpler way is to just pour the bucket into the pan when you've been. No need to lift the top off the cistern.

If you don't have houseplants, do you have a garden? Save the water in a bucket then use it to top up the water butts (not that they need topping up here at the moment).

Alternatively, use the cold water to pre-soak the washing up or for soaking clothes before washing them.

Cheers
Zoe

[Uller]

We have an 'instant' hot water system (ie no tank) but still have to wait for ages for the hot water to get to any of the taps either in the kitchen or bathroom.

We run our shower into a bucket until the water is hot - use the bucket to flush the loo, rinse the shower/bath down after use.
We run the kitchen taps into old 2 litre washing liquid bottles - use the water for washing veg, the dog's drinking bowl etc. If the heating is on, we get hot water more quickly, but when it is off, we often fill the kettle (with water we've saved previously) and boil that to do dishes - uses more electricity, but less gas and water.

We've just got our last water bill - we've reduced our household water consumption by 46 litres per day over the last 18 months by doing all these bits.

[Elizabeth]

We are not on a meter so it doesn't effect the cost......... to us!

Hadn't thought of the dogs water bowl - I'm always changing it