HOW TO SAVE WATER IN YOUR BATHROOM
With much of Australia in the grip of drought, and rainfall patterns changing worldwide with climate change, water restrictions and increasing water prices are becoming the norm. It makes financial and environmental sense to reduce water consumption at the household level, and it makes even more sense to start in the bathroom where consumption is often the highest.
Here’s six ways to save water in your bathroom.
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Ways To Save Water in The Bathroom
With much of Australia in the grip of drought, water restrictions and increasing water prices are commonplace. It makes financial and environmental sense to reduce water consumption at the household level, but where should we start?
On average, a typical Australian uses 200L of water per day, of which 5-10 litres is used for basic survival (i.e. drinking and food preparation). The remaining 190 litres is used for washing (i.e. showers, dishes, clothes and toilets) and the garden.
When reducing household water consumption, it makes sense to start in the bathroom where consumption is often the highest. Here’s six ways to reduce water consumption in your bathroom.
1. Reduce Shower Time
A long, hot shower is one of life’s luxuries, however this luxury comes at a financial and environmental price. The fastest way to reduce water consumption in the bathroom is to simply reduce shower time. Every minute you shave off your shower duration will save 7 – 25 litres of water (depending on the type of shower head you have installed).
Aim for a maximum four minute shower and use a shower timer to help you stick to time.
2. Install a Water Saving Shower
Traditional shower heads have a flow of approximately 25 L water per minute. Switching to a water efficient shower head will save approximately 22 L of water per minute you shower!
But did you know you can go one step further?
The Cullector Water Saving Shower has several in-built water saving mechanisms, including the capture of the cold water that would otherwise flow down the drain while you wait for your shower to warm up. The Cullector feeds this water back through you shower and once it’s used up (after a shower time of approximately 4 minutes) a gentle pulse indicates that your shower time is up.
The level on the Cullector allows you to easily pause your shower at any time. This pause to soap up or shampoo is often called a military or navy shower, and it saves an enormous volume of water. After the pause you can switch the flow back on without readjusting your taps.
3. Collect Shower Water for Use in your Garden or Laundry
Use a bucket to collect water while waiting for the shower water to heat up. For safety reasons, if you have young children, never leave buckets of water unattended. Immediately following your shower pour the bucket of water on your garden or use in the laundry.
4. Use Only What You Need
Friends don’t let friends waste water, and friends especially don’t let friends rinse toothbrushes and razors under a running tap. Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth or shaving and rinse your toothbrush or razor in a cup or sink of water instead.
5. Stretch Your Water Further
Have young children? Bath them together to save water (and effort!) or bath them consecutively in the same tub of water.
6. Get Temperature Savvy
Much water is wasted while waiting for flowing water to reach the desired temperature. This can be reduced by checking the water temperature as you fill the bath, rather than adding extra water to warm or cool the temperature when the tub is full. By insulating pipes from your hot water service you’ll also reduce heat loss, which means hot water to your taps sooner.
Final Thoughts
A large proportion of the water we use in our homes is used in the bathroom. By actioning the steps above you’ll soon be on your water to reducing your household water consumption and saving money in the process. But betters still, you’ll be taking steps in the right direction to conserve our most precious resource.
If reducing your household water or energy consumption is important to you, join Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs for ongoing support, tips and advice to create a waste-free, resource savvy and sustainable home. Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs gives you the A to Z of living a simpler, more self-sufficient life, with a supportive community to boot! Click HERE to learn more.
Over to You!
Have you taken steps to save water in the bathroom or reduce your household water consumption overall? Share your tips below!
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Ep 118 – Five Simple Ways to Reduce Plastic Waste in the Bathroom
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Laura Trotta is one of Australia’s leading home sustainability experts. She has a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering, a Masters of Science (in Environmental Chemistry) and spent 11 years working as an environmental professional before creating her first online eco business, Sustainababy, in 2009. She has won numerous regional and national awards for her fresh and inspiring take on living an ‘ecoceptional’ life (including most recently winning the Brand South Australia Flinders University Education Award (2015) for the north-west region in SA and silver in the Eco-friendly category of the 2015 Ausmumpreneur Awards). With a regular segment on ABC Radio and with her work featured in publications like Nurture Parenting and My Child Magazine, Laura is an eco thought leader who’s not afraid to challenge the status quo. A passionate believer in addressing the small things to achieve big change, and protecting the planet in practical ways, Laura lives with her husband and two sons in outback South Australia. 
