Saving water in your home

Households use over 50% of their total water inside the home. Making simple changes to our habits can save lots of water. If we all reduced how much we used by even a small amount, we could make a huge difference to our total consumption. There are some practical ways to save water in your home, without affecting your lifestyle.

Showering

Take shorter showers

22% of total household water use is used in the shower, and much of it is heated, so you're using power too. 

Limit your showers to 4 minutes or less, this is plenty of time to get clean. Conventional showers use an average 12 litres of water per minute so even reducing your shower time by a few minutes adds up to a lot of water over a year.  Shower timers are a great way to remind you to limit shower times.

Install a water efficient showerhead

Installing a new low flow showerhead that is water efficient (WELS rated 3 star or above) will enable you to enjoy a good pressure shower, while saving you up to 3 litres of water a minute.

You can swap your water guzzling showerhead/s for a water efficient one absolutely free with our Showerhead Swap Program.

Showerhead Swap

Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS)


Catch the cold water

We nearly all waste water while we wait for the hot tap to warm up. Why not keep containers handy near your sinks and showers and use the water you would usually waste, on indoor plants or the garden.

Don't leave the tap running while brushing your teeth

A tap running strongly can use up to 9 litres of water per minute. Simply wet your toothbrush before you begin If you regularly keep the tap running while cleaning your teeth you could use about 7,000 litres per year. Use a cup and you could save nearly all this water.

When buying a bathtub or basins

Deep, narrow basins use less water than shallow, wide ones and a basin with a smaller surface area also saves on hot water by reducing the cooling rate.  Basins can be fitted with pop-up plugs, which stay closed until a lever or button is pressed. These discourage leaving taps running as the basin quickly fills.

As with hand basins, select a bathtub that is deep and narrow. Have it fully insulated to retain water temperature. This can be achieved with a bed of fibreglass batts. Ask your builder to insulate it as your bathroom is being fitted out.


Toilets

Fix your leaking loo

Leaking toilets are the most common leak and can waste up to 25 litres a day. To check your cistern for a leak, place a few drops of food colouring in the tank. Without flushing it, look for colouring in the toilet bowl. If it's getting through, you've got a leak, and it's time to call a licensed Waterwise Plumber.

Install a dual flush system

Toilets use around 9% of total household water use. Replacing a standard single flush toilet with a dual flush system could save 90 litres a day.

If you're building or replacing the entire toilet (the pan and cistern), 6/3 litre and 4.5/3 litre dual flush units are the most water efficient (a minimum WELS star rating of 3).  If you're just replacing the cistern choose a 9/4.5 litre dual flush cistern to suit older style toilet pans.

Upgrade your single flush or inefficient dual flush toilet with our Toilets to go program.

Don't flush rubbish

The toilet uses a lot of water in the home, between 3 and 11 litres for every half or full flush.  Flushing away cigarette butts, tissues and other rubbish wastes a lot of water and can cause problems in the sewerage or septic system.

Check for hidden leaks

Save up to 30 litres a day by repairing leaks in and around your home. Water leaks can be extremely wasteful and costly. Some leaks, however, are difficult to detect.

Licensed Waterwise Plumbers with leak detection services can easily locate leaks and help find or fix them.

 How to seek a leak
  
  Detecting and repairing leaks
  
  Find a Licensed Waterwise Plumber with leak detection services
  

Only run your washing machine when you have a full load

Washing machines can use up to 120 litres each wash, so make sure you only put the washing machine on when you have a full load. .

When purchasing a new washing machine, compare the water and energy use of different brands and choose the most efficient machine that fits your budget. A WELS rated 4 star rated model uses 41% less water than a conventional washing machine.

Front loading machines generally use less water than top loaders of the same size. Use water level controls, suds savers or different wash cycles if available to save water for particular kinds of loads. Low rinse and low detergent options are also recommended.

Run your dishwasher only when it is full

Even a dishwasher with a low water use rating can use the equivalent of two sinks of water per wash. Older models can use even more, up to 20 litres.
If buying a new dishwasher, look for a model that is WELS rated 4.5 star or above.

Use flow regulators and single lever mixer taps

Save water with single lever mixer taps. The lever action mixes hot and cold water and allows you to find the right water temperature quickly, so you won’t waste water. For a bathroom tap look for a minimum WELS star rating of 6. When looking for a kitchen or laundry tap, a minimum WELS star rating of 4 is considered water efficient.

A flow regulator can also help reduce water use by up to 50% by allowing water to flow at set rates, while also providing softer water with less splashing.

High water pressure increases flow rates from showers and taps. To help you save water a Licensed Waterwise Plumber can fit a pressure reduction valve at your property boundary.

For cold water keep a jug of water in the fridge. You will always have cold water on hand and will not waste water while waiting for cold water out of the tap.


Insulate hot water pipes

Insulating hot water pipes can save water and power by retaining water heat and reducing the need to flush out cold water from hot water taps.

Evaporative air conditioners

Evaporative air conditioners work by using cooling pads saturated with water to lower air temperature, but there are some simple ways to reduce the amount of water used to cool your home.

  • Turn to 'fan only' at night or during high humidity periods.
  • Familiarise yourself with your air conditioner's optimal tap settings. You can find this by asking your air conditioner manufacturer.
  • Install flow controllers to reduce water wastage in systems.
  • Regularly check for leaks, maintain flow control and clean the filter pads.

Water saving choices for new homes

Design your new home for water efficiency

When planning a house, locate the hot water system and bathrooms, ensuites, laundry and kitchen as close to each other as possible. This reduces initial plumbing costs and saves water and energy by reducing the flushing of cold water from hot water taps.

 Guidelines for how the Water Corporation defines water efficient homes and gardens
  
 Water efficient household assessment sheet