Water saving tips

I have a few water saving tips id be happy to share! I have a bucket under my laundry tap (drips no matter how many times the washer is changed) and that goes into my dogs water bowl. Dogs hot or old water goes on to my plants of which rarely get watered. I bought front loaded washing machine as my old one was 25 years old or something ridiculous and wasnt water efficient. I wait till i have sink full of dishes and then do the dishes even if its not every day. I dont wash my car! I use that new handy andy quick mop stuff that you dont use water for and it cleans my floor better than anything i used before. I spray my shower with the cleaner and use my old shower water to rinse it off then everyday i use a squeegie after my shower so that the glass stays cleaner. Dont put the water pressure up really high on the shower or any other taps! I think thats all we do. We dont care about our lawn so never water that and as far as washing the house windows, i give them once over with windex!! Happy water saving guys!

Shower with a friend that almost always saves water!

Hi there missytia i live in wertern N.S.W and we don`t get much rain at all but to help do my bit i have bought a large hose that i fitted to my washing machine so all the water from my washing goes on the lawn and gardens this has made my lawn so nice and the gardens look wonderful i only wash when i have a full load.Hope you get some rain down there soon .

i do the buckets in the shower even though i live in flats as the owners like the grass kept up a little so i add my bit out the front and on the trees with the water restrictions... it may sound icky but...you dont really need to flush the loo all the time either (if you do 'number 1' hehe) or can use the bucket of water to 'flush' if i had my own house though, id want to try and have all my grey water (water from showers and sinks) going onto the garden. a friend of the family put a big bowl in the sink to wash dishes (as there were heaps) as it takes less water to fill the bowl but is enough for the dishes. watching the advert on tv for lawn and garden wetting agents is good too...the granules hold the water longer to keep on the gardens...they would be a good idea too. try not to have baths but a quick shower as a shower still takes less than a bath (ive known people who STILL take a bath even with the water shortage)

As a fellow Aussie I agree there is much we can do to help retain our water supplies, and many good ideas have surfaced here. The government is already supplementing the cost of water saving devices, such as shower heads, dual flush toilets and the installation of rain water storage tanks. I think we desperately need to re-think our attitudes to water conservation. Recycling water is inevitable in some places, such as Toowoomba which is almost out of water, but people there rejected the implementation of recycling. London water is now recycled 11 times, and as I've been assured by Londoners, it is OK and has caused no ill effects. We should be agitating governments to introduce recycled water and also desalination plants in order to secure an adequate future water supply. Building of more dams will not solve the problem. Many of our present dams are almost empty. New dams would only be helpful if there was rain to fill them, and if there was rain, the present ones would return to normal capacity. Thanks for a healthy discussion.

Hi Missytia, Oh I am from Australia as well, and yes I realize that we are in a very bad drought at this time. Well firstly for washing up we do this in a plastic bowl, I hope that this tip helps you. We also do not let the tap running when having shaves or clean our teeth, we also use a bowl for this, so we limit the amount of water and not just let it keep running, also when we go to the toilet we normally flush it on the 2nd go in most cases if you know what I mean.

u could install very cheap water tanks they cost about $100 and the tank is 1000liters{they arent proper water tanks, they r ex chemical tanks but u r aloud to use them.} if u puy a proper water tank u would be looking at about $1000+ for something that size.

We live in lower Victoria and are on stage 4 water restrictions. We have 2 water tanks which have very little in them. All our grey water goes through a system and out onto the garden and "grass". The bucket in the shower also. But one thing we found is the amount of water that was used till the shower etc. heated up so a bucket is put under the bath tap till the temp. comes through and the amount is quite surprising so that goes straight out into our tank or waters pot plants outside.

i forgot to add...putting a smaller container in the sink of the kitchen and in the basin in the bathroom can capture drips and also the water from washing hands etc

There are a lot of great answers here. We are now on level 4 water restriction in SE Qld. We can only bucket water the garden now on off days. We keep a watering can inside to put any water from the shower buckets or kitchen in for the garden. We have dual flush toilets (An Aussie invention I have heard. lol) My poor car would not know what a car wash was. I find it interesting that people say “save rain water” it would be great, but it has to rain first before we can save it.. lol We are in a rented place our landlord is not interested in getting us a rain tank or anything that would save money or water. I have heard that Qld are trying to set up pipelines from the north to the south. About time. If we could only get the Government involved more so that those with water to spare to help the area's without.

to save water instead of useing a shower use abucket of water that way u end u p saveing lot of water

you can get yourself a pumping machine and be pumping the water out

Soak hoses water with the least waste. Don't spray water up into the air where much will evaporate, use drip lines and let it slowly soak into the roots where it is needed. Mulch everything deeply to keep the moisture in add more and more organic material to keep water from running through, use a rain barrel if you get rain.

Another thing you could do is to place clear tarps over plants that require more water than the others. It will create a mini-greenhouse and any moisture will stay in the enclosed area.

Try to use less water for ur bath !!! n try to use the kitchen water in ur garden !

Water drought is everywhere, very bad in many places in India; my home town as well. We planned and made 50(+) wells in selected places, it took almost 6 months. Now in all the wells we have good amount of water for public use.

I am from India and in some places of India people buy water with money. Some of the house uses rain water harvestation and uses rain water for domestic purposes. One way to save water is to use rainwater for gardening, washing cloths, etc. There are various method to save the water falling on the roof top into a water tank and use it. Another is to dig holes between the different trees and fill with coconutshells and other things and to save the rain water in the holes and use it for gardening. Making small ponds and collecting rain water is another way to save water for gardening.

Old folks in remote villages without running water didn't really shower. They'd either fill a basin with water and use a sponge/rag and soap to clean themselves (neck, under arms, chest, etc.) or use a large jug of lukewarm water, pour half of it on their heads, wash up with soap, then use the remainder to wash away the soap. You can save a lot of water this way, but it's a big hassle and sometimes you end up feeling kinda "sudsy" because you didn't wash away all the soap :) Right now, over here, the weather is really cold and air humidity is very high. I have a dehumifier on all the time and it drains several liters of water/day. This water can be used for watering plants and things like that. But of course, it only works if there's high humidity.

ahan its good that you are thinking about it... we always save it for others thinking about even a child far away in some desert looking for water.. and save it... well don't waiste it and use it for ur need not more than that... thats enough :)

I live in the west coast of Scotland, summed up by 3 words - Wet, Wet, Wet, so I don't have the same problem that you have. What you are suggesting sounds like it will help, I am not sure of the geography of Australia, however something which I think could help those places which are near the sea is for seawater to be used in toilets instead of freshwater, certainly for toilets totally fresh water is not required. This could be very expensive for putting in extra pipes, also extra pumps as well to pump the water to the houses. There was a discusion started here recently on having a shower with a friend, so that could save water as well. Dishwater is also supposed to be good for use in gardens. I have also heard a tip used by the army of using some kind of plastic bag in gardens at night to collect any condensation which can then be used, not quite sure how it works or how much water you can get from this.