Easy ways to save water and reduce your water bill

My last water bill was a bit of a shocker!

Once I started researching, I realised there were some really easy things we could do straight away to help reduce our water consumption. So, now I am sharing them with you!

Here are some really easy ways to save water and reduce your water bill.

♥ Buy a water-saving shower head

Now that we have moved house and are renting for a while, I realised we had old shower heads that were not water conservation friendly!!

You can buy a basic water-saving shower head quite inexpensively at your local hardware store and they are usually easy to install. You can also get tap aerators that go on the end of your taps if you still have old-style water-wasting ones.

♥ Check for leaks

When I asked for help in our NNAM Facebook group (email me if you want to join us), heaps of you told me to check for leaks. It’s so simple to do!

Just turn off all your taps and appliances, take the meter reading, wait one hour and then take the reading again. Obviously don’t use any taps or toilets in that hour! If the meter has ticked over, you might have a leak.

To check for leaks in your toilet, add a few drops of food colouring (hey, this is how you can use up any toxic stuff still lurking in the pantry!!) to the cistern after you flush. Any leaks will show up in the toilet bowl.

♥ Half flush only

Yes, I did! While hubby and I are motivated to save water and get that bill down, the teenagers in the house need a little reminding. You really only need to use half a flush, not a full flush.

Old fashioned single flush toilets use 12 litres of water per flush, so it’s worth replacing them if you can.

♥ If it’s brown..

We are also practising the old ‘if it’s brown flush it down, if it’s yellow let it mellow’ trick. Not when we have visitors though!!

Just be careful not to let too much paper build up because it can clog the toilet. There’s definitely a sweet spot when it’s just the right time to flush.

♥ Bottle in the cistern

I’m still talking loos! The idea of putting a brick in the cistern to save water (I am sure we did that when I was a kid!) is not recommended. Bits of the brick can disintegrate and cause problems (thank you Google).

So, the better option is to use a plastic bottle (another great recycle idea for milk bottles) filled with a few rocks and water. You pop it in the cistern (away from any of the mechanisms) to reduce the amount of water in each flush. So far it seems to be working well!

♥ Shorter showers

I know, this should seem obvious right? I think it’s because the negative ions from water makes us feel so good we want to stay under there!

We are making a better effort at turning off the shower for shampooing and shaving and making shower time short and sweet. You can put a timer in there if your kids really need a reminder – make it a fun game!

♥ Water-saving mode

Most new dishwashers and washing machines these days will have a water-saving or eco option. If you are in the market for a new appliance, check its water efficiency rating and go for the best you can afford – it will save you money over time.

♥ Full loads only

Wait until you have a full load in the dishwasher and washing machine before you use it. If you need something straight away, it’s much more eco-friendly and efficient to wash by hand.

♥ Fill the sink

Fill the sink with water when you are cooking or cleaning. Use it as much as you can for rinsing instead of having the tap running.

♥ Wash your clothes less

It’s not always easy living in Queensland, because we do get sweaty! But just getting as much wear out of clothes as we can before we wash them really helps.

Wearing pyjamas, jeans, jumpers etc multiple times, sponging off small stains, hanging up and airing clothes instead of washing are all things we can do. Do a sniff test and stain inspection before throwing stuff in the laundry basket.

I hope this has given you some inspiration on easy ways to save water and reduce your water bill.  I would love to know your water saving tips! Leave us a comment below.

You might also like to read: 10 Easy Ways to Be an Eco-Warrior

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