Visit a water efficient house

The left side of this house is water efficient, while the right hand side is not. Move your mouse around the picture on both sides of the house to appliances in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry and out into the garden for some water saving tips.

 

house Installing a water efficient showerhead will still give you a great shower and you'll save water and money, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If you have a dual flush toilet, use the half flush option when possible. Check the toilet for leaks. A slow, barely visible leak into your toilet bowl can waste more than 4,000 litres of water a year. Place a few drops of biodegradable food colouring into the cistern, and wait for 30 minutes. If you have a leaking toilet, you will see coloured water in the toilet bowl. If you have a conventional, older style showerhead, every minute you cut from your shower time could save up to 20 litres of water. By installing a rainwater tank you can reduce your reliance on town water supplies. If you are buying a new machine use the water use labelling scheme to guide your choice. Front loading machines use less water than top loading machines. Use the economy cycle on your dishwasher. Use your dishwasher only when you have a full load. Have a full load of washing before starting the washing machine. Sprinklers can use up to 1,000 litres of water an hour. Fit a tap timer to ensure you don't over water and water in the cooler parts of the day. Investigate installing a greywater system. This enables you to capture your shower, wash basin and washing machine run-off for your garden. Use a rake or broom to clean paths and the driveway. When planting, group together plants according to how much water they use. That way a watering pattern can be designed to prevent waste on plants that don’t need a lot of water. It’s more efficient to water the roots and soils around plants rather than spraying the leaves and flowers.