Masaail pertaining to water and wells

Child sitting in a tub of water after passing urine or stool

Q: My little brother usually plays in a small tub of water. He was wearing swimming shorts and went to urinate, he didn’t do istinja (he usually doesn’t do it after urination and defecation). Afterwards he came back and sat in the same tub of water. Does the water become impure? I don’t think the smell color and taste of water changed after that.

Using a Xeros washing machine

Q: Would it be permissible to make use of the below laundry system to wash clothing?

Laundry systems that will revolutionise the local tourism sector use 80% less water and can save up to 22 000 litres per guest room in water consumption annually. And now these machines are available in South Africa.

Local Cape Town company, fanute, has signed a partnership with Xeros, the innovator of polymer cleaning technologies to exclusively distribute and service its award-winning laundry systems in South Africa.

Amidst the worst drought in over a century, Cape Town has imposed severe water restrictions of just 50 liters a day. The city is bracing for July 9th, which has been dubbed “Day Zero” – the day the city will cut off running water leaving 4 million people without water.

“The near-waterless washing system from Xeros is exciting and can potentially revolutionise the local tourism sector,” says Charl de Beer, manager of fanute. “Saving up to 80% water and nearly 50% electricity are metrics that resonate with South Africans, who are facing rising water costs due to the growing scarcity of these utilities.”

The Xeros laundry system replaces up to 80% of the water used in traditional washing systems with polymer XOrbs™ which gently massage textiles to provide superior cleaning results as compared to conventional aqueous washing methods. By combining the molecular structure of the XOrbs with a proprietary detergent solution, dirt from soiled items is attracted and absorbed by the XOrbs, producing cleaner results in ambient water.

The reusable XOrbs have a lifespan of hundreds of washes before being collected and recycled. The patented, award-winning system uses 80% less water, up to 50% less energy, and approximately 50% less detergent than traditional systems.

Using recycled water

Q: The residential area I stay in is now using recycled water. This water is apparently derived from sewage water. Although they have claimed that the water has undergone stringent purifying processes and is currently safe for human consumption, it is noticeably different from what it used to be before the drought. My question is, knowing full well the apparent source of this water, in addition to consumption, is it jaaiz to use such water for wudhu and ghusl? If not then what is the alternative considering it is very impractical to purchase large amounts of water or even instal a borehole.