# Catching water - what to do with it



## debodun (Dec 29, 2017)

Because of the extreme cold temps here, I have to worry about water pipes freezing. I usually work around this by letting water drip from the affected fixtures. Not to let the water go to waste, I catch it in plastic tubs and use it to water house plants and to humidify the air by putting it in pots on the radiators. With so many cold days and nights and no let-up in sight (temps are not predicted to moderate until the second week in January), I am running out of places to use this saved water. The plants and pots can only take so much. Any idea of what to do with this excess water - it adds up to about 2 gallons a day at the rate I have to let it drip and in he next 10 days, that's 20 gallons.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Dec 29, 2017)

Use it to flush the toilet.


----------



## retiredtraveler (Dec 29, 2017)

debodun said:


> ......Not to let the water go to waste, I catch it in plastic tubs and use it to water house plants and to humidify the air .......... Any idea of what to do with this excess water - it adds up to about 2 gallons a day at the rate I have to let it drip and in he next 10 days, that's 20 gallons.



As a longtime environmental activist, I really liked your post and your concern for wasting water. Yes, use it to flush.


----------



## AprilSun (Jan 12, 2018)

I had water stored one time and I kept it for later use. Well, later I sure was glad I had. My power was off for 1 week. I used that water that I had kept during this time. It was a lifesaver!!!!


----------



## retiredtraveler (Jan 12, 2018)

AprilSun said:


> I had water stored one time and I kept it for later use. Well, later I sure was glad I had. My power was off for 1 week. I used that water that I had kept during this time. It was a lifesaver!!!!



That's one of those things that has been suggested for the population, as a whole, for a number of years. Everyone should have at least a 3-day supply of potable water and food for emergency purposes, and many first responders would tell you to prep for a week (as was your case).
   I would think that a great percentage of the population of the U.S. should be sufficiently 'frightened' at this point, as we're seeing disasters happen in all parts of the country, and they need some basic supplies to prepare to be on their own for at least a few days.
   And don't forget stockpiling some adult beverages while you're at it....................


----------



## jujube (Jan 12, 2018)

You should have seen my kitchen and bathrooms when the hurricane was bearing down on us. I swear I had every single container in the house filled with water.  I did flush the toilet with the left-over water I had in buckets in the bathtub.


----------



## Ruth n Jersey (Jan 12, 2018)

We had a pipe that always froze up that led to our kitchen sink. Our pipes are pretty easy to get to from our basement. He wrapped them all with some type of insulation and we haven't
 had a problem. Could you do something like that? Then you wouldn't have to worry about letting the faucets drip and catching it all..


----------



## debodun (Jan 13, 2018)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> We had a pipe that always froze up that led to our kitchen sink. Our pipes are pretty easy to get to from our basement. He wrapped them all with some type of insulation and we haven't
> had a problem. Could you do something like that? Then you wouldn't have to worry about letting the faucets drip and catching it all..



The pipes aren't very accessible. I'd have to knock down the kitchen wall to get to them. I think they put in the plumbing and then built the house around it. The only place I can get to pipes is in the cellar and trying to thaw an ice block 30 feet away with a hair dryer takes hours. I actually melted one hair dryer a few years ago trying to do that.


----------

