Commentary: An old trick will help you conserve water in the bathroom

My daughters and I had brunch on a recent Sunday. When Jan, Cheryl and I are together, our conversation topics hop all over the place.

After we got back to my house, I mentioned that I had a leak in the shower, and I was carrying the bucket from the shower to the toilet, to the shower, and back again.

Cheryl laughed, and Jan said, “What are you talking about?”

“The bucket. I bought two and gave one to Cheryl.”

“But what do you mean — shower, toilet, shower?” Jan persisted.

“She lets the cold water run into the bucket, then she showers and uses the water to flush the toilet.”

“Actually, I have a recirculating pump, so my water gets warm pretty fast,” I said. “The water in the bucket is ‘grey water’ — you know, soapy water.”

Jan still didn’t understand.

“What does it have to do with pouring it down the toilet?” she asked.

“I have a bucket in the shower that collects extra water, and I use it to flush the toilet,” I explained.

“But there is already water in the toilet,” she said. “I don’t understand.”

“You use the water in the bucket instead of the water in the toilet tank to flush the toilet. You know, after you’ve used the toilet?”

“I don’t get it.”

I explained further. “Dad taught me this a long time ago. If your toilet is clogged, you can flush it through by pouring a whole bucket of water into the bowl.”

Cheryl said, “The force of a lot of water pushes everything through.”

Jan said, “I am not getting this. Can you just show me?”

“Follow me,” I said.

The three of us strode into the back bathroom.

“Bucket of water,” I said, retrieving the bucket from the shower. “The plumber can’t come until Tuesday.”

“Bucket. I’ve got that,” Jan said.

“Toilet,” I said. I lifted the seat. “Observe.”

I put a piece of toilet paper into the toilet and poured in about a quart of water.

Swoooosh, went the toilet.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Jan said.

Cheryl said, “In your house, what with the live-in kids and the grandkids you babysit, you can save a lot of tank water.”

We returned to the den and put our feet back up on the coffee table.

“The kids’ bathroom has a door to the outside,” Jan said. “They could water the plants with shower water.”

“If it’s not soapy,” Cheryl said.

“Or,” I said. “They can flush their toilet.”

“But I have low-flow toilets,” Jan said.

“But they still use water to flush,” I said.

Cheryl got up to leave. “I can’t believe we are still discussing this subject. You should just write a story about it,” she said.

“Excellent idea,” I said. “And it might help other people conserve shower water.”

LIZ SWIERTZ NEWMAN lives in Corona del Mar.