Baths
Many people believe that baths waste a lot of
water. However, often a bath may use less water than showering. Follow
these tips to ensure that you are using the bath water wisely.
- Only fill the tub with as much water as needed. Use less for children and pets.
- Check
the temperature as you fill. Adding extra water to get the correct
temperature after the bath is at the right level is wasteful.
- Regularly check your plug for leaks and replace as necessary.
- Bucket used bath water onto the garden or use it to wash your car.
- Check that soaps and detergents in the water won’t harm garden plants.
Before buying a new bathroom appliance, check the manufacturer’s
water efficiency labels. Australia’s Water Efficiency Labelling and
Standards (WELS) scheme allows consumers to compare the water efficiency
of different products using a star rating system. By buying more water
efficient products you can save money on water and electricity bills
and help the environment.
Showers
Modern water efficient showerheads use no more
than 9 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.
- Take shorter
showers. Limit time spent in the shower to soap up, wash down, and rinse
off. Shorter showers save on energy costs associated with heating
water.
- Use a shower timer. Choose from a manual 4-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.
- Insulate hot water pipes. This avoids wasting water while waiting for hot water to flow through and saves energy.
- 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.