I usually have to go to work right after a surf or paddle and, since I work in the beauty industry, sandy feet and salty, mad scientist hair don’t usually cut it. So here is my water saving hack for a post surf shower that includes a wetsuit rinse with a 5l water bottle. We may all need this for ourselves * and our clothes from day zero (for our international friends: our city is about to run out of water), so here it is:
Harvest 5 litres of non-potable water in a bucket. (Mine is from a well point, but yours might be rainwater)
Save a 5 litre drinking water bottle. Punch holes in the lid.
For a hot shower, pour water into water-heating bucket. Takealot R 165
Don’t let it get so hot that you melt your plastic bottle.
Pour the water into your 5l water bottle. (You can do this ahead of time and then shower at the beach, if you are really pushed for time getting to work. I have it on good authority from one of my Wahine friends, that the water stays warm in the bottle for a while.)
Put the holey lid on the bottle and stand in a storage tub or basin.
Stand in the tub, hold the bottle upside down over your head and shower. It’s a bit of a shoulder workout, but that never killed anyone. It’s enough water for a hair wash too, if your hair is not too long.
Rinse your wetsuit in the water you have collected at the bottom of the tub when you are done. I had some water over in the 5l bottle to spray onto my wetsuit.
Hang up your suit and pour the remaining water back into your bucket. You now have a bucket of gray water. (Watch out for sand content when you decide where to use the water next) I used mine to rinse my hat and my leash, and to water a pot plant.
Do have any water saving tips you would like to share?
* Lack of access to municipal water supply is an ongoing reality for many across our continent every day, not only in times of drought.
Melissa A Volker 