Save water this way

ALBERTON – Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) provided the following water saving tips in light of the warm and dry summer residents of Alberton are currently experiencing.

Water saving tips in the home

1. Check faucets, the stopcocks, valves and pipes for leaks. A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 76 litres of water per day.
2. Do not use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, 19 to 26 litres of water is wasted.
3. Check toilets for leaks – put a little food colouring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the colour begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately.
4. Flush toilets only when necessary – reducing the toilet flush volume alone can save 20 per cent of the household’s total water consumption.
5. Use the water meter to check for hidden water leaks. Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
6. Take shorter showers or turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four minute shower uses approximately 75 to 151 litres of water. Taking a five minute shower a day, instead of a bath, will use a third of the water used bathing in a bath tub, saving up to 400 litres a week. If you prefer to bath, don’t fill up the bath tub.
7. Turn off the water tap after you wet your toothbrush – there is no need to keep the water running while brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing.
8. Use your dishwasher and washing machine only for full loads. Automatic dishwashers and washing machines should be fully loaded for optimum water conservation.
9. When washing dishes by hand, do not leave the water running for rinsing. If you have a double-basin, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have a single-basin sink, gather washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a pan full of hot water.
10. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the fridge – running tap water to cool it off for drinking water is wasteful.
11. Kettles should not be filled to the brim but with just enough water for your needs.

Water saving tips outside the home

1. Cover your swimming pool to reduce water evaporation.
2. Do not over-fill or excessively backwash your swimming pool.
3. Collect rain water to water the garden or wash the car.
4. Use a bucket rather than a hose to wash your car. If you have to use a hose, use a sprayer that can be turned off in-between spraying the car.
5. Do not water the gutter – position your sprinklers so water lands on the lawn or garden, not on paved areas. Also, avoid watering on windy days.
6. Water your lawn only when it needs it. A good way to see if your lawn needs watering is to step on the grass. If it springs back up when you move, it does not need water.
7. Water gardens less frequently and always water your plants in the early hours of the morning or late in the evening, when temperatures are cooler.
8. Clean the car using a pail of soapy water. Use the hose only for rinsing – this simple practice can save as much as 150 litres when washing a car.
9. Use a broom, not a hose pipe, to clean driveways and sidewalks.
10. Every time you boil an egg, save the cooled water for your houseplants.
11. Roof water can also be stored in tanks, for watering gardens.
12. Group plants according to their water needs and mulch around them.