An Energy Saving Way of Cooking Rice

There are many other simple ways of saving water and energy around the home apart from plumbing.

If you use excess amounts of water when cooking vegetables you not only waste water but also gas or electricity. Also, overcooking vegetables robs them of both flavour and vital nutrients.

Here's a method for cooking rice which uses the minimum possible amount of water and energy and also produces excellent tasting rice.

• Measure out the correct amount of rice and put it in a suitable sized saucepan . I always use basmati rice, coz I like the aromatic taste, and find that 1 mug full of rice is enough for 2 people.
• Add 1 and a half times the volume of cold water to the rice . This means that if you are cooking a cup full of rice then you need to use a cup and a half of cold water.
• Add a pinch of salt (to taste).
• Bring the water to the boil
• Once it is boiling vigorously cover the pan and turn off the heat .
• Leave the pan covered for 15 minutes.
• Remove lid and serve the rice.

That's it ! Perfectly cooked rice with minimum water, energy and fuss !

( If you are using some other types of rice you may find that the rice is not fully cooked , in which case in stead of turning off the heat straight away you may need to let it simmer for a minute before leaving it to stand 15 minutes.)

How To Diagnose a Leaky Toilet

In my previous posts on how to repair a leaky toilet I'd already worked out where the leak was and went straight ahead and replaced the flush mechanism with a water saving dual flush mechanism, although I did mention how you could fix the leak.

I thought I'd better put that right by explaining how to find and fix the most common leaks.

When a toilet starts to leak it generally leaks into the pan and down the drain.

There are 2 types of leak:

1. The toilet is overfilling , causing the water to run out through the overflow tube.(Which on most toilets runs into the toilet bowl ,on older toilets the tube may go straight outside).
2. The flush mechanism isn't water tight causing a leak, also into the bowl.
   So the first thing to do is decide which type of leak we have.

The easiest way to do this is to simply turn off the water supply.

If the toilet is overfilling and water running thru the overflow pipe then once the water level in the cistern has dropped to below the level of the overflow pipe it will stop overflowing. The toilet then stops leaking and the water in the cistern stays at this level. This is leak type 1 and is sometimes described as a running toilet. This indicates a problem with the fill valve or the float.
If , on the other hand the toilet keeps leaking until the cistern is empty then the problem is with the flush mechanism.

Now we know where the problem is – we just need to find it.

Solving Type 1 LeaksIf the toilet is overflowing it could simply be because the fill level is set too high.

In which case we simply need to lower the water level to below the height of the overflow tube. This can be done in one of 2 ways depending on the mechanism fitted. If we have an older ball and rod style float then the level can be lowered by simply bending the rod down slightly.

If we have a more modern style float , as shown in the photo, then the level is lowered using the adjustment screw.


In either case if adjusting the float height doesn't solve the leak then the inlet valve is probably faulty and needs to be repaired or replaced.

Solving Type 2 LeaksIf the flush mechanism is leaking then there are three possibilities:

• The flush valve is obstructed or not shutting fully. (This is especially probable if its a very old toilet where the valve is a simple flap) In this case once the obstruction is removed and the valve can close properly then the toilet will stop leaking.
• The flush valve closes properly but leaks. In this case check the state of the gasket , if its perished or otherwise damaged (as shown in the photo) then it needs to be replaced. Once the gasket is replaced it will stop leaking.
• If the flush valve seals correctly but the mechanism leaks then check the “O”-rings or gaskets which seal where the mechanism attaches to the cistern. If these are perished or damaged they may cause a leak and need to be replaced.

If the toilet is running or leaking into the bowl then one of the above methods should fix it.

If the leak is outwards (onto the bathroom floor) then it could be due to A cracked cistern , The seal between the cistern and the pan, the seal between the flush mechanism and the cistern, or the seal between the toilet and the drain. If its a faulty seal then it will normally leak when the toilet is flushed . If its a cracked cistern then it will generally be a continuous leak. More information about diagnosing external leaks can be found here.

How To Fix a Dripping Tap.

A dripping tap in the kitchen can be really annoying. The stainless steel sink amplifies the sound so you can hear it in the next room. Drumming away like some kind of ancient water torture ! But apart from that a dripping tap can waste 90 litres of water per week !

How to Fix a Dripping Tap

You will need:
Small flat bladed screwdriver
Medium flat bladed screwdriver
Medium Cross-head screwdriver
Adjustable spanner (or 21mm spanner)
A new tap washer of the correct size.

Tap repair Step 1: Turn off the water at the stopcock then open the tap to let the remaining water drain out. (there will still be some left in the tap -this can't really be avoided)














Tap repair step 2: Use the small screwdriver to pry the small cover off the tap revealing the screw hidden beneath.(See photo) and remove the screw. Once the screw has been undone the knob should lift easily off the tap.














Tap Repair Step 3: Once the knob has been removed you can see the metal tap assembly ( see photo). You will see that the outer housing has a hexagonal shaped section just alongside where it screws into the body of the tap. This hexagonal section allows us to remove the tap mechanism by unscrewing it with the adjustable spanner.














Tap repair Step 4: Now you have removed the tap assembly you will see the rubber washer with its retaining screw. Undo the screw and prise away the old washer and clean up any dirt or residue. Fit the new washer in its place. Don't be surprised if the new washer is a very snug fit on the central spigot – this is normal. Re-tighten the retaining screw (just nip it up, don't over-tighten it)





























Tap Repair step 5: Before you reassemble the tap make sure everything is clean and free of debris and that the outer seal of the tap is in place (if fitted). Screw the tap assembly into the main body and nip it up ( once again there's no need to over-tighten it)
















Tap Repair step 6: Refit the knob, tighten its screw and re-fit the cover. Open the stopcock and check everything works OK and that there are no leaks. Job done !

One thing that's worth mentioning is that when a tap starts to drip you can normally stop it dripping by over-tightening the tap when you turn it off. This works for a while , but if you keep doing it you will eventually damage the seat which the washer sits against. This is trickier to repair so its best to repair the tap now . After all a new washer costs next to nothing and as we have seen it only takes about 10 minutes to do.

So how much do we save ?
Well as we've already said a dripping tap can waste 90L per week which equates to 4680L per year ! That's € 4.61 per year all for the price of a little rubber washer ! (15cents)

Why Change to a Dual Flush Mechanism ?

As I said in one of my earlier posts , I could have fixed the leaky toilet by simply changing the seal on the flush mechanism. But I decided to change the old single flush mechanism for a dual flush.

I stated that this was to save water and therefore money. But the question is : How much water ? How much Money ?

Assuming that the average person flushes the toilet 4 times a day (I've not counted but it seems reasonable !)

With the old system thats 40L of water per day
With the dual flush since its 3 partial and 1 full flush then thats 15L

Then lets assume a family of 4 over the period of a week
Thats a saving of 700L per week.
Or a massive 36400L of water per year

Now water here costs 9.84 € per 10m3 thats 9.84€ per 10000L of water

Which adds up to a Saving of 35.82€ per year !

How to Fix a leaky toilet- Part 6

Toilet Repair Step 9
Next we fit the water inlet valve to the cistern. This simply passes thru the hole in the side of the cistern and is bolted on using the 2 plastic washers and the 19mm nut provided. Don't over-tighten it – just nip it up. Make sure that the float mechanism is roughly vertical. Once in place the flexible water pipe is attached and the stopcock opened.

As the cistern starts to fill with water. Check that there are no leaks anywhere !!!
The fill level is adjusted using the small plastic screw on the float mechanism.(see photo)
There are 2 marks on the flush mechanism marked “min” and “max”. The float mechanism should be adjusted so that the water fills to between the two marks.

Toilet Repair Step 10

Next adjust the level of the threaded rod which triggers the flush mechanism so that it is about 1 cm below the top edge of the cistern. This is just a rough adjustment at this stage so no need to do up the red lock nut.

Toilet Repair Step 11

Fit the Chromed Flush button to the lid of the cistern as shown in the photo and put the lid in place.
The last step is to re-adjust the length of the plastic threaded rod 'till the blue line on the button just disappears. (You can just about make the blue line out in the close-up photo below)

This might take a bit of trial and error.

That's it ! Easy as that. You now have a non-leaky and water saving toilet. It really is one of those jobs that takes less time to do than to explain how to do it !

How to Repair a leaky Toilet - Part 5

Toilet Repair Step 8 Now we are ready to re-connect the cistern to the pan. It may be necessary to clean up round the hole where the the cistern connects to the pan.

Before we fit the cistern we place the thick rubber gasket which seals the cistern to the pan.
The gasket which comes in the kit is a big silicon rubber affair that should do a good job – no mastic needed !!!!







Next the cistern is lifted into place and the wing nuts which hold it in place are done up – again there's no need to go crazy here only hand tight.

Its best to do each side a bit at a time so that the cistern stays level.



As you can see in the second photo. The Cistern is remounted with just the red fitting in place and is now ready for the flush mechanism to be attached.




Toilet Repair Step 9 fit the flush mechanism

Before fitting the flush mechanism to the toilet.

We set the flush to its minimum setting using the red plastic tabs visible in the photo. At a partial flush of 3L and full flush of 6L it still gives a powerful flush.

The flush-mechanism clicks and locks positively into place on the red plastic fitting, which we've previously secured in the cistern.

How to Repair a leaky toilet - Part 4

The next stage is to clean the cistern if necessary and fit the new flush mechanism to the cistern.

I decided to fit a “Fominaya – Eco Cyclon”
I chose this model because It allows you to adjust the amount of water used in both the full and partial flushes.It also has different fittings to fit different makes of toilet - it should fit any model.

(Note: I also decided to fit a more modern float mechanism instead of the old ball type – coz they're easier to adjust and I figure that while everything's in pieces I may as well give the toilet a complete overhall.In this case the shut off valve is made by Wirquin. )

Toilet Repair Step 7

Select the correct adapter for your cistern and fit it to the cistern, There are 2 gaskets supplied to seal it so that no water leaks out. (Its not very easy to see in the photo but theres a rubber gasket (washer) on the inside of the red fitting and a plastic disc on the outside to protect the cistern from the tightening Ring.
At this point its worth mentioning that the fitting only needs to be tightened by hand – theres no need to over-tighten it with tools , just do it up as tight as you can by hand.

How to Fix a leaky toilet - Part 3

Once The Cistern is removed from the pan you will see that the flush mechanism has a threaded section which passes thru the toilet cistern and is fixed by a plastic threaded collar and 2 rubber washers. If these washers were perished then the cistern would probably leak " externally" ie. onto the bathroom floor – which is not the case here (actually this would largely depend on the seal between the cistern or the pan).

Anyway, we unscrew the plastic collar ( it may need a light tap with the hammer if it has a lot of lime-scale as is the case here , no need to go crazy a few light taps should do it) and remove the old , leaky , flush mechanism from the cistern.

Once the flush mechanism is out of the cistern we can see what is causing the toilet to leak. The main seal on the flush mechanism is badly perished (see photo) and because of this doesn't seal , causing a continuous leak into the toilet.

At this point if you just want to fix the leaking toilet you could just clean everything up , replace this seal and put everything back together. However for the reasons mentioned earlier, I've decided, rather than just repair the leak , to update to a double flush system to save water, and in the long term money (and the planet !!)

How To Fix a Leaky toilet - Part 2

So The waters turned off . By the way if theres one of those small taps on the wall by the toilet (as in the photo above)
don't trust it , in my experience they normally leak. Turn the water off at the main stopcock !

Toilet Repair Step 2 Flush the toilet – this empties the cistern (well about 98 % anyway)

Toilet Repair Step 3 Unscrew the old flush mechanism actuator so that you can take the lid off the cistern.

Toilet Repair Step 4 Disconnect the flexible pipe from the float mechanism on the side of the cistern ( 17mm spanner) and then remove the float mechanism from the cistern (19mm spanner )

Toilet Repair Step 5 Use the old towel or rags to absorb the last of the water left in the toilet cistern. (see photo)

Toilet Repair Step 6 Undo the Plastic wing-nuts which connect the cistern to the pan and lift the cistern free.

How To Fix A Leaky Toilet - Part 1

I've got a few water saving repairs to do around my home so I thought I'd start a Blog to show you how and also why you should do them !

How to Repair a Leaky Toilet.

My toilet's been leaking for a few weeks. This not only is annoying , due to the sound of running water, but it also costs money as it consumes water. So I'm gonna fix it but also, I'm going to update the toilet's flush mechanism to a modern double flush system. This makes sense because its not going to take me any longer to do and whereas my toilet used 10l with every flush with the new mechanism fitted its going to use only 3L for a partial flush and 6L for a full flush. It might not seem like much difference but if you do the calculation for a family of four you'll see its going to save a lot of water. If your water is metered that equates to a substantial cash saving on your water bill. If not well at least you can be content that you're helping save the environment every time you go to the toilet !!!

So Here it is

How to Repair a leaky toilet.

This job takes about half and hour from start to finish.

Tools : you will need to repair your leaky toilet:

• 19mm spanner (or an adjustable spanner)
• 17mm spanner (or an adjustable spanner)

• Philips Screwdriver (medium)
• Small nylon faced hammer ( in case the old flush mechanism is locked on by lime-scale)
• Old rags or an old towel (to absorb water)

Toilet Repair Step 1: TURN OFF THE WATER AT THE STOPCOCK !!!

Actually before you do its worth ; (a) filling a bucket with water - in case you need some water.

(b) filling the kettle - in case you want to have a cuppa!