7 easy ways to save on water usage

Water is a valuable resource and worth conserving. It also costs you money and in some parts of the country can be expensive. The following tips can help you reduce unnecessary water use.

One leaky faucet can be the cause of serious water waste, resulting in a loss of thousands of litres a year. Fix leaky faucets.

It's no myth that if you take a shower you conserve more water and money than if you take a bath. In fact, a short shower uses just one quarter of the water used in a bath.

The type of shower head you use can also make a difference to water usage. An older shower head can release 20 litres of water each minute while a newer model can bring this down to 10.

In a two-person household, this adds up to savings of 37,500 litres a year. You can install a new shower head yourself as it's an easy DIY job.

There is no need to keep the shower running while you shampoo your hair or lather up. Invest in a shower head with an off lever to conveniently cut the water when you don’t need it. When you turn it on again, the temperature is still the same, so there will be no nasty shocks!

New homes automatically have low-flow toilets installed. With each flush, they use less than half the amount of water an older model toilet uses.

If you don’t want to go to the expense of installing a low-flow toilet, try this handy trick: place a plastic soda bottle filled with water in the tank to cut the amount of water used per flush.

It makes perfect sense to put indigenous plants in your yard, as they thrive best in the local climate. To conserve yard water use, group thirsty plants together and use gadgets like a soaker hose, micro-sprinklers and timers to cut water use.

When you brush your teeth or shave, turn the tap off as water wastage builds up when you do this regularly. When hand-washing dishes, use a basin of clean water to rinse rather than holding items under a running tap.

You can save on water heating costs by wrapping an older model water heater in an insulating blanket and turning down the temperature to 50°C.

Similarly, wrap up hot-water pipes to prevent plumbing heat loss. Other great tips for heat savings are super-insulated water heaters or strategically located point-of-use water heaters in key locations in the house.

These heaters warm up water as it is being used, as opposed to keeping a large water tank full of hot water.