Buslife presents a unique opportunity to create freedom and mobility by allowing you to become self sustainable and not rely on the traditional ways to obtain resources. This sustainability is a large part to why I and many of my friends became interested in the buslife and tiny living. One major concern for many buslifers is obtaining and conserving resources while travelling. There are a variety of resources that buslifers do not have consistent access to, but today I would like to talk to you about water!
When you are travelling, especially when you are boondocking or going off grid for a period of time, you do not have constant access to clean water and only have a set amount on board. Once you use up all your water, finding more can become a challenge and create a lot of stress that could have been avoided by using less water and using the water you do use more efficiently.
Since I began my buslife journey 6 years ago, there has been an influx of eco-conscious products that have hit the market. By using the right products and water-saving practices, you will be able to travel freely and not have to stress about water. Recently, I found a product that claimed to help reduce your water waste by simply changing your tap nozzle. Knowing that water waste is one of my big concerns on the road, I wanted to check it out, so today, let’s take a look at the Altered: Nozzle Dual Flow Pro.
Who is Altered?
Before we talk about the product itself, I wanted to share a little about the company. Altered is a Swedish innovation company whose goal is to provide people with a nozzle and shower head that will help eliminate the majority of your water waste. They focus on simple and easy solutions that anyone can integrate into their lives and still make a big difference.
If you are anything like me, you probably have “water usage rules” for yourself that you usually never fully achieve. Some water usage rules could be: set shower times, turning the water off while washing your hair, not using the faucets full pressure while rinsing dishes, turning the water off while brushing your teeth… the list continues. We all have these rules that we have learned or made up in order to limit the amount of water we waste, but despite our best efforts, we still waste more water than we would like.
My favorite aspect of Altered that I learned is that they understand it is hard for people to change their water habits and lifestyle. So, instead of simply hoping people will create and adhere to healthier habits, or creating products that are expensive, difficult to install, use, or maintain, they created a low effort, easy to use product that produces high impact solutions. This way anyone can become more water conscious with ease!
Now that we know a little bit about Altered, let’s take a look at the product.
What is it?
The Altered: Nozzle Dual Flow Pro is a faucet nozzle designed to help you waste less water without having to implement “water usage rules” for yourself. Altered utilizes a unique science that atomizes the water, breaking up the droplets into even smaller droplets! By creating more droplets, the amount of surface area one droplet can reach increases. This means that you need less water because you are now able to use almost every drop of water that comes out of your faucet instead of most of it, literally, going down the drain. Simply put, Altered is reshaping the flow of water so that it is more efficient.
There are 2 different settings that you can choose from: mist mode and spray mode.
At first I was skeptical of mist mode. How is a mist supposed to get your dishes clean or wet a cloth quickly and without frustration? I was proven wrong after 1 use. The mist mode actually functions just as well, no….better, than a traditional faucet nozzle. The water pressure seemed lower because of the mist but my tasks took the same amount of time. Nothing about my lifestyle shifted. The only difference is I have nearly no wasted, unused water going down the drain.
Mist mode can help you save up to 98% of the water you would normally lose. This mode uses the atomization process of the water to create a fine mist that quickly and thoroughly wets a surface. It kind of reminds me of a garden hose’s mist mode, a constant, light spray that somehow soaks your plants. Despite my initial thoughts, I have realized that I almost always use this mode. I find it to be great for my daily tasks like washing my hands and face, washing the dishes, or brushing my teeth.
Spray mode can help you save up to 85% of the water you would normally use. The spray mode is similar to the spray nozzle that you would find in a traditional sink, you know the mode you would use to spray water at your sibling across the kitchen… At first, I thought that this was the mode I would use most often; however, I rarely use this mode besides filling up a cup or pot with water or when washing pots and pans that have stuck on food or grease.
To show the effectiveness of the Altered nozzle compared to a traditional nozzle, I decided to do a little experiment. I wanted to compare how much water came out on the faucet every 5 seconds with and without the Altered: Nozzle Dual Flow Pro. The results were shocking! In 5 seconds, a traditional faucet, well the one I used, overflowed a 12 oz. cup! The spray mode produced about 4 oz. of water and the mist mode about 2 oz. I am excited to compare my water bills to see how much water I saved from one simple change.
What’s in the box?
When you open the box you will find:
- 1 Dual flow nozzle with mist and spray capabilities
- 3 different adaptors
- 2 spacers
- 1 extra screw
- 1 tool to screw the screw onto the nozzle
How to install:
This nozzle fits over most common taps so can be used on any sink with a detachable socket and I was able to install it in about 60 seconds after I scanned the directions.
To install you simply determine which adapter you will use [standard, junior, or tom thumb; I used the standard]. The biggest difference between these three adaptors is their height. Depending on the height of the head of the faucet determines which adapter to use. That way you can ensure you will not have small streams of water spraying out of the top of the nozzle. That happened to me when I first screwed the nozzle on… it was definitely unexpected.
First, you determine your adapter size, you then slide the adapter onto the Altered nozzle. After the adapter is on the Altered nozzle you will then slide the head of the faucet [the piece with the treads you originally unscrewed] underneath the adapter. Next, you place the spacer and gasket on the top of the nozzle and then screw it to your faucet. Once it is secured you slide the water converter onto the nozzle and gently screw it to ensure it stays in place and... BOOM! You are done! You are now able to save up to 98% of the water you would normally lose.
Conclusion
At first, I was not convinced that a nozzle can help me save 98% of my water usage, however, after using it the past month, I have become slightly obsessed with this nozzle. While I am still waiting to compare my water bills, I can say with confidence that this nozzle has saved me a lot of water and therefore money.
There is a drastic difference of how much water is going down my drain. Normally, you can hear the sound the water makes as it rushes down the drain while washing dishes or your hands, the sound of mostly wasted water. Now when I wash my dishes or hands, all I hear is the sound of the mist and a couple of droplets running off my hands or the plate.
Another perk I found for buslifers is using less water also means you have less grey water. Now, we will not have to go through the hassle of finding a safe place to dump our used water as often while on the road! This makes living on the road even more sustainable and enjoyable.
Plus, this nozzle is not only great for buslifers who want to save even more water than you water usage rules allow, but it is great for people who live in traditional settings too! With it’s easy and almost universal installation, ANYONE is able to live a more eco-conscience and sustainable lifestyle without having to drastically change their lives or habits. This nozzle is a small unit that produces big change.
