The purpose of this page is to consider popular concepts, and see if there are better, simpler, more eco-friendly ways of doing things.
Maybe the one of the first questions you are asking is "Why should we get involved with changing things? Why not leave things as they are? They are working fine, aren't they?"
If you will just hang in there for a few minutes, I will try to answer those questions later. One area that immediately comes to mind is that of cleaning materials/substances around the house. For example, the question of which, if any, disinfectant to use around the toilet area.

The common practices are centred around the use of Chlorine-based proprietary products. Supposedly, this is because we all associate the toilet with bacteria; bugs which threaten our health. We have been led to believe that we must get rid of them, at all costs.  This again is an area of misconception.  If someone in the house has a transmittable disease maybe we should be more careful.  But in the absence of such a disease what are we worrying about?  There follows a list of some substances which are in common use. Are ANY of them necessary? Are they of any practical use?

Blueing agent
Harpic
Bleach
Carbolic
Duckneck-shaped bottles
Salt
Bicarbonate of Soda

My own practise is to add a very tiny drop of washing up detergent, together with a tablespoonful of ordinary vinegar. Scrub around thoroughly with the toilet brush. Leave over night if possible. Then flush away in morning.
RATIONALE: The anaerobic bacteria which are probably making the nasty smells don't like a slightly acid medium. However, if you use ordinary soap in an acid medium, it loses much of its soapiness. Dishwashing liquid is not so affected.

Can any knowledgable person tell me if this practise serves a useful purpose? I believe it's environmentally ok, but am ready to be educated. A friend has recently said she did not think adding the detergent was necessary. I can believe that. What do you think?

 I have recently been involved with keeping some public toilets clean.  Each toilet bowl is lightly sprayed with a bit of disinfectant (lemon-scented detergent)  but I have no idea the strength or effectiveness of this "disinfectant."  I use it mainly for the smell, which gives people the knowledge that the area has in fact been cleaned.  The main cleaning comes from my use of the toilet brush!  Using just the plain, fresh water!  And you know what?  Those toilet bowls never smell bad, not to my nose anyway.  Anyway, how clean do those bowls need to be, really?  Is anyone planning to eat their dinner of the surface?   I suggest we all need to get a sense of proportion and drop the phobias.  In his book "The Humanure Handbook," Joseph Jenkins talks a lot of good sense and I recommend it for your reading.  (http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/)

Now, armed with a few facts, you can decide for yourself what savings you want your self, or your household members to make.
An egg timer, which runs for about 3 minutes is a good idea. In that time you would use only a bit more than ONE 25-lt bottleful.
If 1000 people adopted this sort of practice, it would save about 70,000 lt. each morning.

TIPS TO REDUCE THE NEED FOR DISINFECTANTS
Your dishcloth, sponge, and the floor mop - Nasty, possibly pathogenic bacteria live and breed in wet, anaerobic conditions. So make sure you rinse out the cloth, sponge or mop really well, with clean water first. Then squeeze out as much water as possible. Don't leave them sopping wet. Then put them out to dry, so that air can circulate all around, easily. Let them dry out completely. This is most effective in preventing a build-up of smells, and risky bugs.