30 Water (and money) Saving Ideas
Learning how to save water is essential for anyone wanting to live off grid. And for folks with a regular water supply, saving water can dramatically lower those water bills.
The key to saving water is to change some habits and some are easier to change than others.
It’s hard to change the habits of a lifetime but it’s not impossible.
It’s up to you to decide how to save water, some things you will be comfortable with while other cutbacks might be a step too far. The more steps that you take to reduce your water consumption, the lower your bills will be.
Figuring out how to save water isn’t rocket science. Reading this page might lead to come up with your own ideas. If so please let me know! Just use the contact form link at the top of this page.
1. Fix any leaking pipes and taps
A drip from a worn tap washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Check garden taps, where leaks can often go unnoticed.
2. Stop using the garbage disposal unit in your sink
Compost your left over food scraps instead. Not only will you save water and electricity, you will be creating your own useful compost which your plants will love.
3.Don’t rinse vegetables with the water running
Wash fruits and vegetables in a bowl instead of under running water. When you are done rinsing, use the water in the bowl to water plants.
4.Install a water saving showerhead
Wondering how to save water in the bathroom without disrupting your normal routine?
Inexpensive to buy and easy to install. A low flow shower head is designed to have a flow rate of between 1.6 and 2.5 gallons per minute. Compare that to the flow rate of regular showerheads using 5 gallons or more per minute. Although water consumption is reduced, shower head pressure does not decrease because air is mixed in with the water, resulting in a shower that’s just as satisfying as one using a regular shower head. Saving water isn’t the only benefit of these showerheads. Since you are only using half the usual amount of water, you save on heating all of that extra water too.
Aerators are small devices that attach to the faucet to reduce water flow to 2.5 or less gallons per minute at normal pressures. They install in moments by simply screwing on to the end of the faucet. Kitchen and bathroom faucets account for over 10,000 gallons of water a year per household. You can cut that use in half if you install aerators.
6. How to save water use in your toilet
Switch to a low flow toilet or make your existing toilet low flow.
Standard toilets can use as much as seven gallons of water per flush. A low flow toilet cuts that down to a mere 1.6 gallons. It’s easy to see that there are big water savings to made by switching your toilet.
But if you don’t want the expense or hassle of upgrading your toilet, then you can easily modify your existing toilet and make it into a low flow model.
Install an adjustable flapper to control how much water flows into the toilet when it’s flushed. Once it’s installed, experiment to find the perfect setting for your needs. An adjustable flapper
Install a toilet tank bag/bladder The Toilet Tank Bank
is one of the simplest ways to save water – fill to top, snap to close and hang in toilet tank. Worry-free water savings for the lifetime of the toilet. Constructed of non-corrosive materials that resist microbes and fungal growth. * Easy-to-fill * Patented air lock and fill valve – no water evaporation which means the bag never needs refilling * Every flush saves water – up to 0.8 gallons per flush! * Maintenance-free
Install a fill cycle diverter This Toilet Water Saver Fill Cycle Diverter
takes excess water from the bowl and diverts it to the tank to reduce water consumption * Save up to 2,700 gallons of water per year * Installs in minutes – No tools needed
Convert your toilet to dual flush An alternative to the modifications mentioned above is this HydroRight Drop-in Dual Flush Converter
This short video shows how quick and easy it is to fit the hydroright.
7. Take a quicker shower
One of the simplest ways to save water is to take a quicker shower.
A ten minute shower with a regular showerhead could use as much as 60 gallons of water. Each minute you save in the shower saves water.
If you don’t wash your hair or shave in the shower you can be in and out in a jiffy.
8. Wash hair in a bowl or bucket of water instead of washing it under the shower.
You’ll save a lot of water this way and the still clean water in the bucket can be used to shave with, wash some laundry or mop the floor.
9. Place a bucket in the shower to catch water while you wash.
Use the water to flush toilets, do laundry, clean floors, water plants etc
10. Don’t empty the tub after bathing.
Use the water to flush toilets. Just take a bucket and empty water into the toilet bowl to flush.
11. Adopt this water saving mantra in your bathroom
“If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down”
Just in case you aren’t sure, that means leave number ones in the toilet bowl and only flush when a number two is present.
12. Don’t let the water run when you clean your teeth.
Each person who brushes their teeth for the average length of time (46 seconds per day according to the American Dental Association), while letting the water run from a standard faucet, uses about 1.8 gallons a water.
Use a glass of water instead and only turn the water on to swill away any gunk left over in the basin.
13. Give each family member their own towel.
Give each person a different colored towel so everyone knows which towel is which. Ensure towels are hung to dry after use and you’ll only need to wash them once a week.
14. Use smaller towels
A hand towel works perfectly well for drying off after a bath or shower. Having the family use these smaller towels will reduce the amount of laundry you need to do.
15. Don’t waste your pets water
Instead of throwing away the water from your pets drinking bowl when it’s time to change it for fresh water, use it to water a houseplant.
16. How to save water while washing your car.
Depending on how fast you do the job you could be using 70 – 100 gallons of water to clean your car.
In addition to fewer car washes you can also wash your car more efficiently.
Fill a bucket with soapy water then spray your car to wet it down. TURN OFF THE HOSE while you wash the car with the soapy water. Then quickly spray the car once again to remove the suds.
If you’re washing your car during a spell of dry weather, position the car so that water will run off and water an area of lawn or a garden bed, rather than just running off the drive and into the drain.
If your car is dirty and it’s raining, you could always run outside with a bucket and sponge and let the rain rinse the suds away!
17. Collect rainwater from your roof.
A
and a water barrel can provide you with plenty of free water for watering plants and washing cars.
18. How to save water with a rainwater harvesting and filtration system
If you filter the water that you collect from your roof you can use it to supply all of your household needs.
A good book that will help you to plan your system is Rainwater Collection for the Mechanically Challenged
You will need a water filter housing
and filter cartridges
If you don’t want to haul it indoors by the bucketful, then you’ll need to install a dedicated water line for the rainwater, so that there is no chance of it mixing in with the city’s water supply.
In case you are wondering how much of your household consumption could be met by rainwater, let me tell you that our family of five meets all of our needs with rainwater alone. We chose not to connect to a mains water supply and by following the water conservation methods outlined on this page we do just fine!
Big Berkey Water Filtration System
Drinking water should receive further filtration just to be on the safe side. We use a Big Berkey Water Filter
Berkey water filters are top of the line filtration systems.
The ceramic filter cartridges that fit inside the smart stainless steel unit last for thousands of gallons of water filtration, making Berkey filtered water the cheapest clean water around.
If you’ve been buying bottled water due to the unpleasant taste or safety concerns associated with tap water then a Berkey will save you hauling hundreds of bottles of water home from the store and it will save you money too.
A gallon of water filtered with your Berkey Water Filter
19. Double up cooking pans
Steam vegetables over a pan of potatoes, rice or pasta instead of cooking them in a separate pan.
Saves cooking water, heat from another gas/electric ring and cuts down on dish washing too.
20. Use a hand washer for laundry
Wonder Washer
A handwasher is a great thing to have. I use the Wonderwash
The Wonderwasher’s secret is the pressure created by the warm water that you put into the tank. The pressure forces the water through your clothes as you turn the handle on the side.
After 2 minutes the clothes are washed and you can either drain the water and rinse or you can remove the laundry and put some more in to wash.
Transfer the rinsed laundry into a spin dryer
and after a quick 2 – 3 minute spin your clothes are dry enough to hang out on the line or on a clothes drying rack
indoors .
A dedicated spin dryer spins much faster than the spin cycle in a regular washer and uses very little power. You can easily do away with using a money sucking clothes dryer if you use a spin dryer
Here is a video of the wonder wash in action.
Why Use the Wonderwash
- Washes a 5-lb. load super clean in just a couple of minutes.
- Has a patented pressure system that forces detergent into the fabric at high speed for a fast, efficient, economic and very easy wash
- Is ideal for campers, single persons and even for families dealing with small frequent loads and diapers.
- Is ideal for delicates such as woolens, silks, knitted dresses and cashmere garments.
- Uses far less water than even hand washing.
21. Mulch around plants.
Mulch slows down evaporation, keeping moisture in the soil for longer. Mulching helps to keep weeds in check too!
Combine mulch with drip irrigation for the ultimate water saving system.
22. How to save water with a grey water system
Water from, baths, showers and basins can be used to irrigate landscaping or some fruit trees. You can save thousands of gallons of water a year by reusing grey water to water your plants.
We send our greywater out to some fruit trees. We settled on the mulch basin design which is explained in the book The New Create an Oasis with Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systems
23. Landscape with less water hungry plants
This is especially important if you have hot dry summers. Switch to drought resistant plants and consider ditching that labor intenisve lawn. Replace it with pea gravel for low maintenence, no water landscaping.
24. Think about installing a waterless toilet.
Composting toilets range from simple (but effective) owner built bucket systems to self contained commercial models. You get used to using one very quickly and you’ll save huge amounts of water. When you stop to think about it, it is pretty crazy to flush thousands of gallons of clean drinking water down the drain, when you could use a compost toilet and turn waste into a resource instead.
25. Wear less clothing to cut down on laundry.
No I’m not suggesting that you go around half dressed. But fewer changes of clothing equals less laundry – which is a chore – and will save you water.
Hang unsoiled clothing up after use so it’s ready to wear again. If clothing is a little crumpled, hang it up in the bathroom while you take a shower and let the steam take those wrinkles out.
26. How to save water – Don’t flush clean water down your toilet
Install a toilet tank hand basin.
When you flush the toilet you are flushing drinking quality water down the drain. Such a waste!
With a toilet tank hand basin, that clean, drinking quality water is directed to the basin for handwashing, then the water drains into the toilet tank ready for the next flush, instead of going to waste down the drain
The water is clean water, straight from the supply line, just the same as you get when you turn on any faucet. Just to be clear on this – it’s not water from the toilet bowl.
The following video features a hand basin that you can easily add to an existing toilet. If you’d like a toilet tank with a built in basin take a look here
27. Wash fewer dishes
Reuse the same glass/mug to cut down on dishwashing. If you eat a sandwich (at home) at lunchtime, just brush the crumbs from the plate and use it again for dinner.
Plate meals in the kitchen rather than using serving dishes at the table.
28. Share bathwater
Hop into the bath tub after the kids are done. Saves on water and water heating.
Remember to use the bathwater for flushing toilets and watering plants to maximise your water savings.
29. Take a sponge bath
A sponge bath uses a teeny amount of water compared to a bath or shower and gets you clean just the same.
30. Don’t waste cold water
Instead of letting cold water run down the drain while you are waiting for hot water to come through, catch the cold water and use it to fill a kettle or a pan.
So there you have it. 30 ideas for how to save water. Pick and choose from the list and start saving water today!
And remember if you’ve got any ideas of your own on how to save water please share them with us.
Knowing how to save water will save you money and put less pressure on a precious resource. You may have heard water being talked about as the “next oil” or you may have heard the term “water wars”. A World Without Water shows us the frightening reality of water scarcity.
We hope that you will leave this page with not only ideas for how to save water in your own life but with a deeper understanding of why saving water matters.