Save water - simply reduce water consumption
Here is a tip for all who want to save water. Last week, I measured the flow of my shower (hold the bucket for 30 seconds, read off the water quantity and double it, then you have the flow rate per minute). In my case: 18 liters per minute.
Assuming 300 showers per person per year and 5 minutes average shower time, this makes 27 cubic meters of water per person per year. The cubic meter of water costs us 4,71 EUR (fresh water + waste water!) So about 127 EUR water costs only for showers for me. Heating costs for hot water not included.
So I wanted to change something and ordered flow restrictors. Gabs in a pack of three on eBay for 3 euros. These are rubber tiles with a hole in the middle that simply does not let through as much water as it does without them. Three different diameters leave room for personal savings. Personally, after the installation I still wanted to be able to shower with sufficient amount of water, so I opted for the largest diameter.
Result: Now only about 11 liters per minute. So corresponds to a water saving of 10.5 cubic meters or 50 EUR. Since we are three in the household so about 150 EUR water savings + the gas savings, since I use less hot water.
The other flow restrictors I have then installed in our second shower and a faucet. Since the holes were too small, I simply changed them with a punch to the same diameter as the largest one. Went well and funzt great.
Since there was no tap left in the bathroom, I built another flow limiter myself. Simply cut a tetra pack and punch a small hole with a punch. In my case 3mm diameter. Then cut out of the faucet according to the size of the seal (nail scissors well suited because of the rounding) and install between the seal and the faucet. This also works fine. Of course, I can not say anything about the longevity of this self-built part, but if it does not work in the long run, I will just invest 3 EUR for the rubber parts. As a seal, however, I have had the Tetrapack material installed in a siphon for years.
Best regards.
