In the former Soviet Union- and its satellite states, many citizens had and have water dispensers in their so-called ‘Dachas’ (Russian: дачи). Dachas are typically simple, free-standing houses located in city suburbs or the countryside. And most of them do not have running water or electricity. But most of them are surrounded by a vegetable garden and have some fruit trees on it. There is no tangible counterpart of such a kind of second home in the Western world. This concept remains nowadays in all former Soviet-influenced states in Europe, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, … and so on.
Typically, the whole family has to drive to the Dacha and do gardening chores on weekends. Most of the available plot is used for planting potatoes, cabbage, beetroots, and many other vegetables, often too much for one family. And life in the Dacha is typically quite basic. Electrical power or solar panels are very seldom there. Sewage is improvised, and running water is rarely available in the house. But there are web pages that offer help with all of these problems. You can find one of these web pages here.
Manual water dispensers for handwashing
An old Soviet design is still in vogue for hand washing within a Dacha. It is a vessel mounted on the wall that is filled with water. A valve on a stick protruding below this vessel is lifted, opening the valve, and water runs out, which is used for handwashing.
The Soviets of the past used a standardized metal container, which is still widely used today. In Central Asian countries, these vessels were often made from brass and were nicely decorated. But most of the new handwashing devices nowadays in former Soviet countries are made of plastic.
The advantages of metal containers are their longer lifetime and resistance to UV rays. However, the disadvantage is that often, the valve seat is not watertight, and these containers leak. The following video shows how to use such handwashing basins.
Lessons learned from water dispensers for handwashing in Dachas:
- It is a very efficient way to utilize water for handwashing.
- There is no need to fill these containers with running water, but water can be refilled from sources outside.
- Plastic dispensers have more reliable closing valves than metal dispensers.
- A heating device can be mounted to heat water within the water vessel.
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