Exasperation at the hours her teenage son spent in the shower turned a Tayside gym teacher into a business entrepreneur.
Carolyn Hogg converted her frustration at the waste of water and electricity into the design of water recycling products which she is about to put on the market.
The 53-year-old Angus PE teacher thinks her prototypes could make a big splash in areas in Britain and abroad that suffer from water shortages.
Her task is to turn the trickle of interest in her ideas into a torrent once customers see the benefits of conserving the precious natural resource.
Carolyn is managing director of Cascade Water Products, a company she set up with the support of her husband Peter, an inventor with a background in the industry.
The mother of four recalled: “I used to listen to my son spending hours in the shower, like many teenagers, and thought about all the fresh water pouring down the drain and the electricity that was used to heat it.
“It was such a waste, and I thought surely it could be put to better use.”
Using Peter’s technical know-how they developed devices capable of being relatively simply made and installed for the use of recycled, or grey, water.
Her first product, the Garden Hippo which collects kitchen waste water and rain water for garden use is set to go on the market next year.
It will be followed by the Pod Shower and a washroom unit, both of which collect waste water and send it to cisterns where it is used to flush toilets.
The pod shower also has a heat exchanger that transfers heat from discarded to incoming water.
The washroom unit uses settlement technology and a floating debris separator so no filters are required.
Retail costs are still to be decided but Caroline and Peter have calculated that the investments will pay for themselves in no more than three years.
The washroom unit is for offices and workplaces, but they have predicted that in places with 1,000 employees approximately 1,500,000 litres of water will be recycled every year and at least £3,000 will be saved off the water bill.
Already a potential customer has come forward from Spain, who sees the possibilities for the product in a 5,000-home port development under consideration.
It is in places where water is scarce that Carolyn and Peter feel their inventions have the greatest opportunity to succeed, and that isn’t only the parched territories of southern Europe.
The Environment Agency has warned that much of England and Wales could face serious water shortages next year unless there is a significant rainfall over winter.
“I read recently that there is less water per capita south of Oxford than in Sudan, so I think water recycling schemes and products will become increasingly important,” Carolyn continued.
“As well as abroad we think our products can sell within the UK, especially where water is metered.”
Many budding entrepreneurs find the first plunge into the world of industry not easy, especially the pursuit of advice, funding and recognition for their carefully nurtured products.
Carolyn is no different as she navigates the course of Government and private-sector schemes designed to help people start businesses.
She feels more help could be given. “It can be quite frustrating and I would say there is a need for more support to be given to people like me to negotiate the maze of grant applications and support to find the right funding source for the products that are presented,” she added.