Yes, even first aid is being affected by the drought!

The first thing you woud do for a burn or a cut is put it under running cold water to take out the heat and clean the area.

Of course, when we’re all trying to cut back on the amount of water we use, running water for first aid doesn’t seem so good.

For a small cut, the amount of water required to clean it is probably pretty small so this isn’t an issue. But a burn should be held under water for at least a few minutes, and that can add up to being a lot of water down the drain.

The simple solution is to run water over the burn and collect the water in a bowl underneath. The bowl of water can then be used on the garden, to wash clothes or whatever.

If water is really limited, use two bowls and pour the water from one bowl over the burn into the second bowl and keep swapping. This water will eventually warm up and be less useful for the burn, but this is better first aid than not applying cold water at all or for too short a time.

Posted: November 15th, 2007 under general, saving water.
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When’s the last time you had a sponge bath? Or maybe you don’t remember ever having one?

Personally, I remember having a few back when we had no gas for a while so hot water was scarce. I’d boil the kettle twice, pouring the water into the laundry trough each time. Using a fash washer, I’d sponge myself and by then the water had cooled enough to bath my baby in the trough.

It is much more convenient to jump in the shower - and washing my hair is much easier that way! But the amount of water we ocudl all save by taking the occasional sponge bath is amazing. Did you know that the average three minute shower uses 27 litres of water? Well, that’s for an efficient shower head - it can go up to about 60 litres with a poor shower head.

A sponge bath can be done with 4 litres comfortably, and a lot less if necessary.

So are you up for a challenge? Can you swap to a sponge bath once a week or once a fortnight? If you can get everyone in your household to do it, watch your water metre and see what difference you are making.

Good luck!

Posted: November 12th, 2007 under challenges, saving water.
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