In the bathroom

Nearly half of all water used in the home is in the bathroom and 20 per cent of that water is flushed down the toilet.

Look for water efficient devices. Modern water efficient showerheads use no more than nine litres of water per minute, while old style showerheads use up to 20 litres per minute. If you shower for six minutes, a water efficient showerhead can save up to 50 litres of water for each shower or up to 20,000 litres of water per person per year.

Tap tips

Don't leave taps running. A running tap uses about 10 litres of water per minute.
A dripping tap can waste up to 12,000 litres a year! Leaking taps can usually be fixed with a new washer.
Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth. Wet your brush and use a glass for rinsing.
Don’t rinse your razor under a running tap. Filling the basin with a little warm water is just as effective and less wasteful.
Install water efficient taps or use a flow-controlled aerator which screws onto older-style taps. Aerators can reduce water flow by 50% without reducing pressure.

How to change a tap washer

Shower tips

Take shorter showers – aim for less than four minutes. Limit time spent in the shower to soap up, wash down, and rinse off. Shorter showers also save on energy costs associated with heating water.
Use a shower timer. Choose from a manual four-minute egg timer or a more sophisticated electronic timer that either attaches to the shower wall or showerhead or is wired into the wall during construction.
Use a bucket to collect water while waiting for the shower to get hot.
Shave your legs before taking a shower. Use running shower water to rinse off.
Consider an instantaneous water heater if your existing water heater is located some distance to the bathroom. Talk to a plumber first to make sure it will work adequately with your showerhead.
Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high. Adding cold water to reduce the temperature of very hot water is wasteful.

How to replace a showerhead

Bath tips

Only fill the bathtub with as much water as needed. Use less for children and pets.
Check the temperature as you fill a bathtub. Adding extra water to get the correct temperature after the bath is at the right level is wasteful.
Regularly check your sink and bath plug for leaks and replace as necessary.
Bucket used bathwater onto the garden or use it to wash your car.
Check that soaps and detergents in the bathwater won’t harm garden plants.

Toilet tips

Buy a top rated dual flush toilet. Look for models with a four-star water efficiency rating. These can save the average home up to 35,000 litres per year. These toilets use just 4.5 litres for a full flush and three litres for a half flush.
Older toilets use around 18 litres per flush. If you can’t afford a new toilet, put a water-filled plastic bottle or a brick in your cistern to reduce the volume used with each flush.
If you are building a new home or doing a bathroom renovation, consider installing plumbing to flush your toilets using rainwater or greywater.
Don’t use your toilet as a bin. Feminine hygiene products, food waste, baby wipes and goldfish should go in the bin! Flushing these down the toilet not only wastes valuable water but places additional strain on the sewerage system.
Toilet leaks often go unnoticed but can waste 60,000-96,000 litres of water per year. Check whether your toilet is leaking:
- Remove the lid of your toilet cistern.
- Place a few drops of food dye into the cistern.
- Do not flush your toilet for 10-15 minutes.
- If the dye has seeped down into the bowl when you return, then you know you have a leak.
If your toilet is leaking, contact a licensed plumber.