Urban Utilities is sharing its top tips and gadgets to help South East Queenslanders save water and money this winter.
In the average home, almost 30 per cent of our water is used in the shower and bath.
Urban Utilities spokesperson, Michelle Cull, said winter was a common time for longer showers.
“Long, hot showers can be a winter water guzzler, but there are plenty of tips and tricks to keep your usage – and bill – down,” she said.
“Simply reducing your shower time from seven minutes to four minutes can save around 27 litres of water a day.
“For a family of four that’s a saving of around 40,000 litres of water and $170 over a whole year, based on each person showering once a day.”
To super charge your savings there is a simple test you can do to check the flow rate of your shower head, to work out whether you should swap to one that is more water efficient.
“To do this test you put a bucket under the showerhead, turn the tap on full and then time how long it takes for the bucket to fill up,” Ms Cull said.
“For example, if you have a 9L bucket and it takes 30 seconds to fill, your showerhead has a flow rate of 18L per minute.
Ms Cull said water efficient showerheads use 9L of water or less per minute.
“If your shower head is using more than that, consider swapping to one with a higher WELS star rating or adding a water saving disc,” she said.
“Water saving discs are a cheap and easy-to-install gadget that can be inserted into your showerhead or tap to reduce the flow of water.”
Ms Cull said saving water had benefits beyond the hip pocket, especially as the winter dry season continues.
“Our dams had a good top-up over summer, but we live in a climate of extremes, and it makes sense to stay waterwise all year round,” she said.
“Small changes can have a big impact. For example, if everyone in our service region cut their shower time by just one minute, we could save around 14 million litres – or just under 6 Olympic swimming pools – of water every day.”
For more water saving tips, visit https://urbanutilities.com.au/waterefficiency
Urban Utilities’ top bathroom water saving tips:
• Use a shower timer or shower to a 4-minute song
• Use a bucket to collect water in the shower while you wait for the water to heat up and use it on the garden or to do the dishes
• Instead of shaving in the shower, put a plug in the sink while shaving
• When filling the bath, don’t wait for the water to heat up before you put the plug in, adjust the temperature as you fill
• Install a water efficient showerhead or water saving disc
