Persil

Greer Robson-Kirk's Blog

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How to Save Water at Home

New Zealand is such a lovely green country, so it’s not a surprise that we can sometimes take our abundance of water for granted – especially with the winter weather we are having at the moment!


But we only have to look to our neighbours in Australia to see how drought can affect everyday activities such as washing the car or watering the lawn.

This is why I think we should all be taking steps now to conserve water wherever possible. It is our most precious resource and we need to give it the respect it deserves! Almost 71% of the earth’s surface is water*, but less then 1% of this is fresh water ready for drinking!**

Below are some tips on how to save water that I’ve been doing at home – try them in your house and together we can all take a big step in the right direction.

How to save water at home:

  • Fix dripping taps – a dripping tap could waste up to 200 litres of water a day!***
  • Skip rinsing your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher and only run when fully loaded
  • Have a shower instead of a bath – they typically use half as much water #
  • Get your kids to turn off the tap while they brush their teeth – leaving it running for two minutes will waste 28 litres of water!## And, make sure dad turns off the tap when he’s shaving as well.
  • Give yourself a break and take your car to get washed at the service station – a commercial wash only uses roughly 60% of the water required to wash you car in the driveway at home!###
  • Place an old brick or weighted plastic bottle in your toilet cistern – it will use less litres per flush

What are you tops tips for saving water ? Share them below.

*Pidwirny, Michael (2006). “Fundamentals of Physical Geography (2nd Edition)”
** Shiklomanov, Igor A.; et al. (1999). “World Water Resources and their use Beginning of the 21st century Prepared in the Framework of IHP UNESCO”. State Hydrological Institute, St. Petersburg.
*** http://www.energywise.govt.nz/how-to-be-energy-efficient/your-house/hot-water/simple-ways-to-save-on-hot-water
# http://www.energywise.govt.nz/node/9354
## http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/cnlser/wtr/wtrsavetips.asp
### http://www.platinumcarwashandoil.com/2009/10/go-green/