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Silly poll: Would you reuse bathwater? - Page 2

Poll Results: Would you reuse bathwater in this scenario?

 
  • 25% (56)
    Sure!
  • 74% (164)
    Nope!
220 Total Votes  
post #21 of 109
10/22/09 at 1:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crystal_R View Post
I'm pretty sure DD pees in the bath so I wouldn't.
Exactly what I was going to type too.

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post #22 of 109
10/22/09 at 1:19am
To conserve water, we bathe all our kids (sans infant) in a bucket. First the 2 year old has his bath, then the 3 year old, and then the 5 year old gets the bucket topped off with hotter water.

Bucket-baths do three wonderful things:
1. Save TONS of water. The amount we use doesn't even come close to filling the tub.
2. Keeps the water warmer longer, because there's less surface area to allow for cooling. GREAT in winter months when kids get chilly fast in a shallow pool of water.
3. Gives the kids a nice soak in a spa-like environment so they're relaxed and toasty before bed.
4. I had to edit to add a fourth wonderful thing: The bathtub gets scummy/dirty waaaay less often, which means less cleaning for me!

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...bucketgirl.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...s/killian1.jpg

ETA: To answer the OP, no, I would not let my kids bathe in day-old standing water, esp considering that toddlers tend to pee in their bathwater.
post #23 of 109
10/22/09 at 1:33am
Absolutely we often reuse our bath water. Here in Japan a lot of families reuse their bath water. They make covers to go over the bath and we have a button we can push that reheats the water. We keep ours in for 2 days before making new water. We do wash with soap before getting in the bath (you don't use soap in the baths here. . .baths are for soaking not for washing), most of the time the kids get out of the bath to pee (we have a whole room for bathing, the shower is separate from the bath so they just pee down the shower drain). If the water looks icky of course we change it. . .but otherwise, I see nothing wrong with reusing!
post #24 of 109
10/22/09 at 1:44am
If I did that at our house I am pretty sure we'd have a quite moldy bathroom. It's wet enough here in the wintertime.

Also, if my DS knew it was there, he'd want to be in the bathtub every time we went into the bathroom, all day long... and that wouldn't be a fun fight all day long...

Immediate recycling, YES. Overnight, no.

Tjej
post #25 of 109
10/22/09 at 1:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by snoopy5386 View Post
no I would not leave bathwater sitting in a tub for an extended period of time because it is a drowing hazard. Your son could slip off on his own, get into the tub and drown. Also, I think the amount of hot water you would have to add to the cold water to warm it up would be almost equal to the amount of water for a new bath.
post #26 of 109
10/22/09 at 1:47am
No.

1. Mold/mildew. Have you ever actually smelled even clean bath water that has been sitting for a very long time? Not a nice fragrance.

2. Pee in the water. I bet your DS pees in the water at least half the time, even if you don't notice.

3. Drowning hazard. You'd have to somehow lock your bathroom so that he couldn't get in there and fall into the tub full of water.
post #27 of 109
10/22/09 at 2:24am
No.

If you are mostly concerned with saving water, have him shower with you. DS does this with me.

If it is the playing with water aspect that he likes, just fill the tub with less water, like a couple of inches. DS loves playing in water, and a couple of inches is all he needs for a good ol' time.
post #28 of 109
10/22/09 at 2:50am
DS always pees in the water.

DH would be annoyed if he couldn't take a shower, b/c I was saving old bath water.
post #29 of 109
10/22/09 at 3:00am
I wouldn't re-use the water the way you're describing, but we do bathe together, or if I just do a soak then sometimes DD will get in when I'm ready to get out. We also let the water cool in the tub (helps heat up the house), and then we scoop water out for the plants. I feel guilty wasting water, too. Sometimes I'll pre-soak or handwash my delicates in the tub water when I'm done as well.
post #30 of 109
10/22/09 at 3:59am
No, but if you don't want to waste the water you could use a bucket and water your plants with it. Have you thought about setting up a grey water tank? the water from your toilet , hand basin, bath/shower, kitchen, laundry are stored in a tank and you can use it to water your garden but just not on veggies or any edible plants.
post #31 of 109
10/22/09 at 5:54am
FWIW, we replaced our shower only with a shower / bathtub July 2008. DH takes readings every month. In the last year period, our water consumption has gone up from 140 (metric meters?) to 220. Thats 50% more - just for a bathtub. 2 baths per week. DH and I still take showers. So yes, a bath is huge on your water consumption.

Interesting to read the reply from Japan. I think that is very efficient. I also would love to reuse the water, but not for baths, since then neither DH or I would be able to take a shower the next morning! maybe I'll research this grey water tank.
post #32 of 109
10/22/09 at 6:40am
we have a family bath - dp, 2 yr old dd, me and baby in the bath together. It's a normal sized bath, but we are pretty small ppl. We don't use any soap etc though - those are only for adults in the shower in our house.
post #33 of 109
10/22/09 at 6:46am
Yes. And urine is completly sterile - so thats not an issue either.
I also see no problem in using the same bath water to bathe the whole family with.

You can also - somehow get it rigged up to your toilet. That way the toilet water is what you have used in the bath - so no water is really wasted (as its been re-used) to flush the toilet with (and um - not the other way around - toilet water won't go into the bath! lol)

And - if you arn't using any chemically stuff - its perfectly fine to water the plants with too!
post #34 of 109
10/22/09 at 9:14am
Letting it sit for two days is a dealbreaker for me. My kids will take consecutive baths (or bathe after me or my partner), but we wouldn't leave the water to sit for days. That just seems icky.
post #35 of 109
10/22/09 at 9:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ann_of_loxley View Post
Yes. And urine is completly sterile - so thats not an issue either. I also see no problem in using the same bath water to bathe the whole family with.

You can also - somehow get it rigged up to your toilet. That way the toilet water is what you have used in the bath - so no water is really wasted (as its been re-used) to flush the toilet with (and um - not the other way around - toilet water won't go into the bath! lol)

And - if you arn't using any chemically stuff - its perfectly fine to water the plants with too!
Urine is only sterile while it's in your body. Urine sitting overnight in a pool iof water is no longer sterile.
post #36 of 109
10/22/09 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by snoopy5386 View Post
no I would not leave bathwater sitting in a tub for an extended period of time because it is a drowing hazard. Your son could slip off on his own, get into the tub and drown.
Very good point!

Quote:
Originally Posted by vbactivist View Post
Urine is only sterile while it's in your body. Urine sitting overnight in a pool iof water is no longer sterile.
Yeah, it's one thing to do a family bath (we do!) and know that there is probably pee in it, but it's another thing to get into peed in bath water a day later. Ick.

Based on the post from the family in Japan, maybe the ick factor is really a cultural one. Maybe a cup of vinegar in the water would cut down on bacterial growth?
post #37 of 109
10/22/09 at 9:41am
You can use a bucket to scoop water out of the bathtub into your toilet to flush it, so even if you don't want to leave the bathtub sitting full for days you could still reuse a couple of flushes worth.
post #38 of 109
10/22/09 at 9:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AbbieB View Post
Very good point!



Yeah, it's one thing to do a family bath (we do!) and know that there is probably pee in it, but it's another thing to get into peed in bath water a day later. Ick.

Based on the post from the family in Japan, maybe the ick factor is really a cultural one. Maybe a cup of vinegar in the water would cut down on bacterial growth?
The Japanese (sp?) bath tub is more of a hot tub to relax in after scrubbing and rinsing off.
post #39 of 109
10/22/09 at 10:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sancta View Post
To conserve water, we bathe all our kids (sans infant) in a bucket. First the 2 year old has his bath, then the 3 year old, and then the 5 year old gets the bucket topped off with hotter water.

Bucket-baths do three wonderful things:
1. Save TONS of water. The amount we use doesn't even come close to filling the tub.
2. Keeps the water warmer longer, because there's less surface area to allow for cooling. GREAT in winter months when kids get chilly fast in a shallow pool of water.
3. Gives the kids a nice soak in a spa-like environment so they're relaxed and toasty before bed.
4. I had to edit to add a fourth wonderful thing: The bathtub gets scummy/dirty waaaay less often, which means less cleaning for me!

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...bucketgirl.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...s/killian1.jpg

ETA: To answer the OP, no, I would not let my kids bathe in day-old standing water, esp considering that toddlers tend to pee in their bathwater.
You are a genius!!! We used to live in a house with a big deep garden tub (where the kids and I all bathed together) and my kids loved the water up to their necks, they get so cold in the shallow tubs here. I am totally going to go get a big bucket like this today.

OP- no, I would not do what you're describing. First, the water gets cold really fast, so I think you would have to add at least the same amount of hot hot water to it to bring it to a normal temp, and that defeats the purpose. Second, it sounds gross to leave a tub full of water overnight. I do reuse bathwater in the sense that my little boys get in the tub, then my oldest gets in the same tub with a little more hot water added.
post #40 of 109
10/22/09 at 10:28am
Nope. There are other ways to save. But saving the bath water isn't one of them.

Good question though!

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Simple Tips for the Work at Home Mom
Why Dads Need More Praise
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Reduce, Reuse and Recycle › Silly poll: Would you reuse bathwater?