Practical Water Saving Tips for Households

Reducing household water use rarely depends on a single dramatic change. It is usually the result of several smaller adjustments applied consistently. This page sets out specific, practical steps grouped by area of the home.

Bathroom

Showers generally use far less water than baths, particularly if kept under five minutes.
A dripping tap can waste a significant amount of water over a month, so washers and seals should be replaced as soon as a drip appears.
Dual flush toilets, or a simple displacement device such as a filled bottle placed in an older single flush cistern, reduce the volume used per flush.
Turning off the tap while brushing teeth or shaving avoids running water unnecessarily.

Kitchen

Running a dishwasher or washing machine only with a full load uses water more efficiently than several smaller loads.
Washing vegetables in a filled basin rather than under a running tap saves water that can then be reused on plants.
Keeping a jug of drinking water in the fridge avoids running the tap each time to get a cold glass.

Garden and outdoor use

Gardens, especially lawns, are often the largest single water use in a household during warmer months. A few adjustments make a notable difference.

Watering early in the morning or in the evening reduces water lost to evaporation compared with watering in the heat of the day.
Mulching flower beds and vegetable patches helps the soil retain moisture for longer between waterings.
Choosing indigenous or drought tolerant plants reduces the need for regular irrigation once they are established.
Sweeping driveways and paths instead of hosing them down avoids unnecessary water use for cleaning.
Washing a car with a bucket and sponge, rather than a running hose, uses a fraction of the water.

Detecting leaks

Leaks are often invisible day to day but can waste large volumes of water over weeks or months. A simple check is to read the water meter, avoid using any water for an hour or two, then read the meter again. If the reading has changed without any water having been used, there is likely a leak somewhere in the system, either underground, in a toilet cistern, or in a hidden pipe.

Toilets are a common hidden source of water loss. A few drops of food colouring added to the cistern, left without flushing, will show in the bowl within half an hour if there is a leak between the cistern and the bowl.

Reusing water

Greywater from baths, showers and washing machines can often be redirected to garden irrigation, provided it has not been mixed with strongly chemical cleaning products. Some households install simple diversion systems for this purpose, while others collect it manually in buckets for use on plants.

Rainwater collected from roof gutters into a storage tank is useful for gardens, washing outdoor surfaces, or topping up ponds, reducing reliance on municipal or borehole supply for non drinking purposes.

Building habits that last

Most of these measures are easiest to maintain when they become routine rather than an occasional effort. Fixing a leak once it is noticed, keeping an eye on the water meter periodically, and adjusting garden watering with the seasons tend to have a greater cumulative effect than short bursts of strict rationing followed by a return to old habits.