You can buy water-saving appliances or install low-flow fittings, but the easiest way to save water is to think about how you use it.

By repairing leaks or turning off the tap when you are brushing your teeth you can save thousands of litres of water a year. If you pay for your water through water metering, that will also save you money.

Turn off the tap

The easiest way to save water is simply to turn off the tap when you don’t need it.

If you run a tap while you brush your teeth, for example, you are sending many litres of water down the plughole. Instead, turn the tap off until you need water to rinse. Remind the kids to keep the tap off while they brush, and you’ll save more water and have a drier bathroom too.

When you do have the tap running, turn it on part-way. You’ll get plenty of water for washing your hands or brushing your teeth - and you won’t get splashed.

Fix leaks

Leaks waste far more water than you’d think.

If you have a tap that drips at 50ml per minute (an egg cup full), you’ll be losing 72 litres of water a day. Over the course of a year, that’s more than 26,000 litres - enough to fill a family-sized swimming pool. If it is leaking from the hot tap, that unused water could cost more than $200 a year to heat.

A leaky hose can waste even more water - up to 60,000 litres in a year. Soggy ground around a leaking garden tap or hose can cause dampness and condensation in your home.

Fix leaking taps and pipes promptly. You’ll save on water and energy charges, keep your home drier, and - in the case of leaking pipes - prevent serious damage to your home.

Whenever you call a plumber, have your tap and plumbing fittings checked for leaks and wear, so that prompt action can be taken.

Use the plug

If you rinse a lot of muddy clothes under a running tap, you could be sending as much as 100 litres of water down the drain. That’s enough to do a whole load of washing. Instead, use a bucket or part-fill the tub instead of running water.

The same applies in the kitchen. If you’re rinsing dishes or food in the kitchen, put in the plug and part-fill the sink instead of running water throughout.

Fill a jug

Keep a water jug in the fridge in summer so you don’t have to run the tap for ages to get your water cold enough for a drink. It will also help save water when filling pots for cooking or the kettle. If your water is chlorinated, it also reduces the chlorine flavour.

You can also give kids their own water bottle. They’ll love the ownership and freedom it gives them. It’s also more hygienic than sharing bottles.

Scrape dishes or use the dishwasher’s eco rinse

Rinsing plates in the sink can waste many litres of water and is often unnecessary. Generally, it is enough just to scrape plates before putting them in the dishwasher.

Modern dishwashers can cope with grease and even some food scraps without rinsing first. Also, they often have water-efficient rinse cycles. These cycles may use just a few litres of water to rinse messy dishes when you’re not ready to wash a whole load.

Take showers

A typical bath uses 180 litres of water. A typical shower uses anything from 20 to 100 litres, depending on how long you stay in. To save water and save on hot water bills too:

• Take showers instead of baths.
• Keep your showers short - a bath may be more efficient than a long shower.
• Turn the shower on only when you’re ready to get in (and persuade teenagers to do this too).
• When you use the bath, think about how full it needs to be.

For teenagers, put a clock or a timer in the bathroom and reward them if they keep showers to the agreed time.

Reduce your toilet’s water use

Toilets use from three litres (for recent dual flush models) to 12 litres each flush. Many households use one-third of their water to flush the toilet.

You can adjust your toilet so it uses less water. Put a displacement device, such as a ‘gizmo’ or a brick, in a single-flush cistern. Or you can fill a couple of plastic bottles with water and put these in your cistern. You could save thousands of litres of water a year.

In older toilets (pre-2004) a full flush uses 11 litres. Check inside your cistern to find how much water you’re using with each flush.

Reducing the amount of water you flush is a particularly good investment if you have a septic tank, or are on metered water or rainwater tank supply.

Check with your plumbing retailer for the best option for your cistern.

Fix toilet cistern leaks

Check for cistern leaks and fix them - small drips of water can quickly add up to thousands of litres wasted.

You may not know if you have a leak. To check, put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern. If colouring ends up in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak.

Note that in older toilets any overflow from the cistern goes to a drain outside, so the only water finding its way to the toilet bowl would be from a leak. In newer toilets, overflow from a poorly adjusted cistern goes into the toilet bowl. This can make it harder to decide whether you have a leak or if you need an adjustment to the overflow. Call a plumber if in doubt.

If there is a leak, it may be a simple matter of replacing the ‘underwater valve seating washer’ (the piece of rubber that keeps water in the cistern). These are available from plumbing retailers. Check the inlet washer at the same time. Replacing either of these washers will cost only a few dollars.

Choose the right appliances

Choose appliances that are the right size for your household, so it’s practical to run them only when they’re full. And choose models that use energy and water efficiently. For more detailed information, see choosing the right appliances.

Don’t run appliances half-empty

Fully load your dishwasher and washing machine before running them. Typically, the ‘half-load’ setting on dishwashers tends to use much more than half the water and energy of a full load. Choose eco-settings where practical to save water and energy.

For more detailed information, see Energy &water-saving tips for home appliances.

Reduce water flow

Water flow is the rate water comes out of your taps and showerheads. You don’t need your taps or showerhead to deliver more than nine litres of water a minute, yet some use three times that much.

By switching to water efficient (‘low-flow’) taps and showerheads, or installing water restrictors, you can save significant amounts of water.

For more detailed information, see reducing water flow.

More information

From Smarter Homes

• Choosing The Right Appliance
• Re-Using Greywater
• Collecting And Using Rainwater
• Water Heating
• Reducing Water Flow

From other sites

You can download NZ Water and Wastes Association booklets The story of Water (PDF, 5.4MB) and Savings in your House (PDF, 5.5MB), from the association's website.