Waterwise home
Bathroom
Most homes use more water in the bathroom than in any other part of the house. It’s a great place to start looking for ways to save water.
Showers
More than a quarter of your household water use is typically in the shower.
- Shower for 4 minutes or less – check out the 4 minute shower songs playlist on Spotify! Reducing a shower by 2 minutes can save up to 2 buckets of water and save energy!
- Install a water-efficient shower head (with a WELS rating of 3 stars or more). In 4 minutes, a shower head with a WELS rating of 5 stars will save over a bucket of water compared to a 3 star shower head.
- Insulate your hot water pipes. This means you won’t need to wait as long for the hot water to flow through—saving you both water and energy.
- Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high.
- While waiting for the water to heat, collect it in a bucket and use it on your garden.
Toilet
Within a typical household over 10% of water used inside the home is flushed down the toilet. The following tips can reduce the amount of water used and in turn help reduce your water bills.
- Use the half-flush option and save nearly 6 buckets of water in a week! Remember to only flush the 3Ps (pee, poo and (toilet) paper); even if the label says it’s flushable it could still cause blockages in your pipes or at the wastewater treatment plant. Find out more about water’s journey (PDF, 1.0MB) beyond your tap.
- Install a toilet that has a WELS rating of 4 stars or more.
- If you have a rainwater tank and receive regular rainfall, use tank water to flush. Talk to your plumber about having your rainwater tank internally plumbed to your toilet.
- A continuously running toilet can waste up to 18 buckets of water a day! Check for leaks by putting a little food colouring in the cistern. If the colouring begins to appear in the bowl without flushing, the cistern rubbers need to be repaired. Flush twice as soon as the test has been completed to prevent staining.
Bath and basins
You can reduce water use in baths and basins – try these tips!
- Turn off the tap while cleaning your teeth, soaping your hands or shaving – you’ll save over 6 buckets of water a day!
- Use as little water as possible in the bath by placing the plug in before you turn on the tap and fill the bath to less than a third full. You could also bath small children together.
- Swap your bath for a 4 minute shower and you could save over 65 buckets of water in a week – in a year, that’s enough water to fill a pool!
- Have a licensed plumber install flow restrictors and aerators to taps around the house.
- Replace your older-style tapware with taps that are WELS rated 3 stars or more.
In this guide: