Bathroom

Many people believe that baths waste a lot of water. However, often a bath may use less water than showering. Follow these tips to ensure that you are using the bath water wisely!

• Adding cold water to cool very hot water is a waste of energy and water. So, make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high - ideally no higher than 60°C.
• Only fill the tub with as much water as needed.
• Use a bucket to throw bath water onto the garden or wash your car with it! (Check that soaps and detergents in the water won’t harm garden plants.)

Modern 4-star water efficient showerheads use no more than 6 litres of water per minute whilst still providing great performance. Older style showerheads can use up to 20 litres per minute.

If you shower for six minutes, a water efficient showerhead can save up to 70 litres of water for each shower or up to 20,000 litres of water per person per year.

Here are some more tips to save water in the shower:

• Try to reduce the time you spend showering by using a shower timer. You can get sand timers and electronic timers. Alternatively just choose your favourite 4-minute song from this playlist.
• Shave your legs before taking a shower, then use the shower water to rinse off.
• Use a bucket to collect water while waiting for the shower to get hot. You can use this excess water to water your plants.
• Replace your showerhead with a 4 star rated WELS showerhead. These are designed with performance in mind to ensure you still enjoy a powerful shower that uses water and energy efficiently.
• Consider an instantaneous water heater if your existing water heater is located some distance to the bathroom. Talk to a plumber first to make sure it will work adequately with your showerhead.
• Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high. Adding cold water to reduce the temperature of very hot water is wasteful.