Water

    • water purification system – you may hear the UV water treatment unit gurgling. (It is the blue device mounted on the wall above the washing machine.)
    • tap water – perfectly fine for all cooking, washing, toothbrushing etc
    • bottled water – we do drink bottled water for the look and taste
    • bottled water replacements – located in the big cupboard, in the mudroom, immediately to the left of the fridge
    • water usage – we have typically have lots of water in the late fall, winter and spring. During the summer (which can extend to the end of September), however, we need to really conserve water. We only have water that was collected into our tanks to use. The Gulf Islands receive much less rainfall than the lower mainland does.
    • pumps – a pump is needed to pull the water out of the well and into the storage tanks and then another pump is necessary to pump the water out of the tanks, down to the cottage and to maintain the water pressure. If the power goes out the taps in the cottage and the toilets will not work.
    • Sometimes the pump looses its prime, meaning that the pump is on and running but it is not pulling water. It is necessary to ‘Reprime the Pump’. See attached video.
    • septic system – all of the water that goes down our drains and out the toilets needs to be treated in our septic tank and field. Ours is quite small as it was designed for only two people. While we have lots of water in the winter we do not want to overwhelm the septic tank by too much water use. Nothing goes into the toilet other than toilet paper (not kleenex) and what you’ve already eaten. Definitely no feminine hygiene products.
    • Flushing toilets – in the summer just flush when necessary
    • Showers – in the summer, ‘Navy Showers’ are the way to go – get wet, turn off water, soap & shampoo up, turn water back on to rinse.