Water Saving Tips
Did you know? Just one leaking tap can waste 260,000 litres in a
year. 260,000 litres is the same as 260 cubic meters; more water
than the average household consumes in an entire year!
Every day, there are many simple little things we can do around the house to save water, money and help the environment.
Take a look through the tips below for some clever shortcuts to savings.
Water Saving Tips to Remember
In the bathroom
- Don’t leave taps running unnecessarily. 10 litres a minute runs through your taps when they’re turned on.
- If you are building or renovating, consider installing a dual flush toilet, a low flow shower head, or other water saving device. Using a water efficient dual flush toilet means you can choose to flush only half the water in the cistern.
- Check your bathroom taps for leaks – a dripping tap can waste a lot of water – up to 5,000 litres per month.
- Check your toilet for leaks. Try a few drops of food colouring in the toilet cistern and wait a while. If the food colouring appears in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak. You can save up to 2.5 million litres of water (35,000 bathtubs of water) a year by fixing your leaky loo.
- Don't leave the water running while shaving or brushing your teeth. Clean water running down the drain is a waste.
- Don't use the toilet as a rubbish bin by flushing tissues or squashed bugs that should be put in the bin
- The bath is a big water user. Try partially filling the bath instead, you’ll end up just as clean and you’ll make significant savings.
- Opt for a shower over a bath – if you have shorter showers you will save a lot of water and you will also save on water heating costs.
- Consider installing water-efficient shower head or flow restrictors. Water efficient showerheads can save you around $100 per year on your water and energy bills.
In the laundry
- Washing machines with 3-star or 3A rating use around half as much water as a conventional washing machine, but still give you the same clean clothes. If your machine has a water level adjustment, use it! Otherwise, only run the machine if you have a full load.
In the kitchen
- Don't wash the dishes, or scrub vegetables with the water running. Put the plug in and run some water into the sink.
- Check taps and pipes for leaks. Dripping taps waste a surprising amount of water. Worn washers most commonly cause leaky taps. Replacing tap washers is a basic do-it-yourself job, however, if you're not confident with it, call a plumber.
- A typical dishwasher uses 125 litres of water per load, so it’s a good idea to wait until you’ve got a full load before you run yours or use a dishwasher with a minimum 3-star or 3A water efficiency rating, you'll use as little as 18 litres of water per load.
- When you are rinsing dishes fill the sink with water rather than running them under the tap.
- Running water to cool it down for drinking wastes 10 litres a minute. Keep a jug of drinking water in the fridge.
- You could install a flow regulator reduces the amount of water coming out of your household taps without you even noticing.
In the garden and outdoors
- There are many simple things we can do in our gardens to save water, money and the environment. Here are a few easy ideas to practice when you're pottering around outdoors.
- Try to keep the water level of your pool halfway up the skimmer opening. Overfilling the pool stops the skimmer working efficiently and wastes water.
- A pool cover is a clever way to reduce evaporation and the need to regularly top up your pool's water level. Without a cover, more than half the water in your pool can evaporate over a year.
- Keep all your kitchen scraps, lawn clippings and garden waste - they're perfect for homemade compost, which your soil will love.
- If you need a watering system consider installing a drip irrigation system. It will cut wastage by making sure the water goes only where you need it.
- If you use a sprinkler use a timer with it - a forgotten sprinkler wastes more than 1000 litres per hour - a timer will allow you to place as much water as is needed without the threat of wastage.
- A good soaking every now and then with a hand-held hose will help make your lawn more drought resistant by encouraging deeper roots. Soak don't spray - while giving the garden a quick drink every night may be good therapy for you, it does nothing for the plants. It makes them shallow rooted and dependant on the meagre amount of water you provide. Water your plants every fourth day in summer but water for longer periods. This makes plants hardier and encourages the roots to go deeper into the soil to seek out moisture.
- To assist the establishment of your new lawn and to minimise the amount of water it requires, it is recommended that you apply a light top dressing to your lawn. Talk to your local nursery or landscape supplier about a suitable weed-free, sand based, organic top dressing mix.
- When planting new garden beds, group plants with similar watering needs together.
- Try not to cut lawns too short. When mowing, cut only the top third of the leaf area, leaving it three centimetres or higher. Reduce water loss even further by saving your lawn clippings to use as mulch on your lawn or garden.
- Regularly check your outdoor taps, pipes and plumbing fixtures for leaks. Just one dripping tap can waste 2,000 litres a month.
- Use good mulch and add compost to your soil. These add nutrients and help to retain moisture and reduce evaporation. - mulches can prevent up to 70% evaporation loss and they are one of the cheapest and easiest ways to make the most of water in the garden. The best mulch is a well-rotted compost which will also improve the soil structure. Place the mulch away from the trunk to prevent collar rot occurring.
- It's best to water the roots and soil around plants rather than spraying the leaves and flowers.
- Watering your garden in the cool of the early morning, or in the evening reduces water loss through evaporation - early morning is ideal. Cooler times are better for the plants and less water is wasted through evaporation. Avoiding watering in windy weather also reduces loss through evaporation.
- Take some time to relax in your garden and water by hand with a can or trigger nozzle. It's one of the best ways to make sure your plants get just the right amount of water.
- Paths, patios and driveways must never be hosed. Use a broom, rake or outdoor blower or vacuum instead.
- When washing your car, park it on the lawn and use a bucket for washing and rinsing. This way you can save water, as well as water and fertilise your lawn - car shampoos use phosphates that are similar to many fertilisers.
- When deciding on a lawn type, go for slow growing, water saving varieties like Palmetto. They have deep roots for drought tolerance and they don't need mowing as much as other varieties.
- By choosing plants to suit your local environment, you can save water and ongoing costs in your garden. Your local garden nursery will be able to advise on other water efficient and drought tolerant plants suitable for your garden.
- Watering a level garden for longer, but less often, promotes deeper roots and hardier, healthier, drought tolerant plants. Remember to only use a hand-held hose or watering can or install drip irrigation. (About 12 millimetres of water an hour is enough for most sessions.)
