Bathroom and Laundry

Toilet leaks can be silent! Be sure to test your toilet for leaks at least once a year. Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak.

If you have a traditional toilet, put a 1L bottle of water in the toilet tank to reduce the volume of water flushed, or better change to a dual-flush system.

If your toilet flapper doesn’t close properly after flushing, replace it.

Group clothes by colour or fabric to use a more efficient wash cycle.

Washing clothes in cold water saves water and energy, and helps your clothes retain their color.

When washing your hands, face and hair turn the water off while you soap.
Teach children to turn off faucets tightly after each use. Reward kids for the water-saving tips they follow.

Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save up to 15 litres a minute. That’s up to 760 litres a week for a family of four.

While you wait for hot water, collect the running water and use it to water plants.

Turn off the water while washing your hair and save up to 600 litres a month.
Take 5-minute showers instead of baths. A full bathtub requires up to 265 litres of water.
If your shower fills a 4 litre bucket in less than 20 seconds, replace the shower-head with an aerated one, or one with eco-stop function that saves water..

Before getting in the shower, many people will first run the water to check the temperature but there is no need to do this if your water heater (geyser) is installed as close to your shower as possible. During the shower, try reducing the power or pressure setting to save water.

To conserve water, it is good to spend less than five minutes showering.

At home or while staying in a hotel, reuse your towels.

Other tips from this room

Bathroom

Remember to check that your shower head does not drip or leak when turned off.

Buy an aerator for each of your household taps. The aerator spreads the stream of water coming out of your tap into tiny droplets. This will prevent splashing, save water and increase water pressure.

If your shower fills a 4 litre bucket in less than 20 seconds, replace the shower head with an aerated one, or one with Pulsating Technology.

When running a bath, plug the bathtub before turning on the water. Adjust the temperature as the tub fills.

Drop tissues in the trash instead of flushing them and save water every time.

Plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse your razor and save up to 1136 litres a month.

When washing your hands, turn the water off while you lather.

A full bathtub requires up to 265 litres of water.

One drop every second adds up to 19 litres per day!

Check your faucets and shower heads for leaks.

Laundry

Only wash full loads. Washing machines operate at maximum efficiency when the drum is full. If you tend not to fill the drum you should wash less frequently or consider buying a washing machine with a smaller drum.

Use cotton wash instead of synthetic wash. To avoid creasing, synthetic wash programmes use fifty per cent more water than cotton washes.

Do not use extra rinse. If your washing programme is set to use extra rinse, this will obviously use more water than necessary.

When shopping for a new washing machine, compare resource savings among Energy Star models.

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