8 Ways to Save Water

Save water – something on the looming day zero that is about to hit cape town and how best to help in trying to avoid it and prepare for it. 

8 Ways to Save Water

We’ve all read about the water crisis in Cape Town and the looming day zero. There are plenty of news stories on how dire the situation is, with water being absolutely essential for all living beings, there is no way we can get around needing it. This brought to our attention that water the world over is often in short supply and so we’ve compiled a list of 8 ways to save water and in turn do our bit in saving the planet.

1. Turn Your Taps Off We’ve probably all done it, left the tap running whilst brushing our teeth or washing our hands, or even whilst rinsing dishes. One of the easiest ways to save water is to switch the tap off until it is necessary. Wet your toothbrush and switch the water off until it’s time to rinse, leave the tap closed whilst scrubbing your hands and rather rinse dishes in a bit of water in the sink than under a running tap. You can save 6 litres of water per minute just by implementing this easy step!

2. Power Shower Keep those showers short and sweet. As wonderful as it feels to stand under the cascading water, showers use up to 17 litres of water per minute. Set a timer on your phone or even switch the water off whilst soaping up your body and shampooing your hair. You could also install a more water efficient shower head.

3. Goodbye Leaks Regularly check for leaks in and around your home. Water leaks are a terrible waste and a simple fixer-upper job could save many litres from simply dripping away. Also find out where the household stop-valve is as this could be a lifesaver if a pipe bursts.

4. Royal Flush Older toilets can use up to 13 litres of water per flush! Thankfully the newer dual-flush systems use around 4 -6 litres but you could save even more by applying the old adage of “if it’s yellow, let it mellow.”

5. Fully Loaded Only run the washing machine and dishwasher with a full load. Believe it or not, running a full dishwasher actually uses less water than washing the same amount by hand in a sink. Likewise, washing a full load of clothing as opposed to two half loads, saves not only water but energy too.

6. Cool Drink Another great way to save water is by keeping a bottle of water in the fridge. Running the tap until the water is cool enough to drink wastes many litres of unnecessarily.

7. The Perfect Catch Put a bucket in your shower to catch water (especially whilst waiting for the water to heat up) and place buckets outside to catch rain water. You can even add the water from cooked pasta or vegetables to save even more. Use all this water to flush the toilet or water your garden.

8. Food-wise Did you know that you can even save water by adjusting the way you eat and cook?! Cutting back on red meat and dairy helps save water as rearing animals for these purposes is incredibly water intensive. You can also steam your food instead of boiling it, this saves not only water but also means your food retains more of its nutrients. If you do boil, use the left-over water to make tasty stock for soups.