Simple ways to save water at home

Kitchen

• Dishwashers don’t use as much water as you might think, but leaving a high-pressure kitchen tap running can use up to 12 litres per minute.    
• Skip the pre-rinse - scrape off food into the compost/bin instead.  
• Handwashing your dishes? Fill your sink rather than washing under a running tap.

Laundry

• A washing machine can use more than 120 litres of water per load! Cutting down your use is simple.
• Only do full loads of laundry. 
• Be an outfit repeater! Got an outfit with no visible stains? If it passes the sniff test, hang it up and wear it again later in the week.  
• If you’re in the market for a new washing machine, front-loaders can use significantly less water.  

Garden and Outdoors

Hand watering 

• Add mulch (old leaves or grass clippings after mowing) to your garden. This helps stop wind and sun drying out the soil, cutting evaporation by up to 70% and puts nutrients back in the soil. 
• The middle of the day is when the sun is hottest – and evaporation happens fast. Water in the early morning or evening, so your garden gets the maximum benefit.   
• In dry weather, check your garden every 4-7 days. If your soil is moist 10cm below the surface, don’t worry about watering. Water close to the ground at a rate the soil can absorb. Slow watering and not over-watering your garden is important.  

Sprinklers & irrigation:  

• IN: Deep soakings once or twice a week. OUT: Frequent light water sprinklings. Deep soakings encourage feeder roots to grow and help your plants survive short term drought conditions. 
• Use drippers or directional sprinkler heads. These make sure water is going where you want it, not wasted on your paths or fences. 

Bathroom

Shower 

• One minute in the shower can use up to 18 litres of water. Keep it quick in the shower (about as long as a song) and make every minute count, with an efficient shower head. Find them at your local hardware store. 
• Brushing your teeth? Turn off the tap! A bathroom tap uses around 6 litres of water per minute.

Toilet

• Stick to the half-flush and save the full flush for when you really, really need it.  
• If your whānau or flatmates don’t mind, ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow’. 
• Ignoring that slow drip in the loo? It could be using up to 28 litres of wai per day – get it checked out by a plumber.  Not sure if there’s a leak? Put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern. If the colouring appears in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak (you may need to wait an hour or two for the food colouring to leak into the bowl). 

Find out more about water restrictions on the Wellington Water website.