One of the most obvious ways of saving water is to make sure you are not loosing water through any leaks. But we often forget these little tasks and focus on bigger ones.

So, how can you check for leaks? Here are some simple tests you can use:

1. look in the bowl of your bathroom, kitchen and laundry basins/sinks first thing in the morning. If the bowl isn’t dry, there could be a tap leak.
2. place a dry sponge or tea towel in the bottom of a sink or basin. If it is still dry a hour or so later (assuming you haven’t used the sink in that time), it is unlikely that tap leaks
3. test how hard you have to turn a tap before it stops dripping. If it is hard work, get it fixed as it will only get worse - and not everyone will be careful in turning it completely off anyway
4. turn off everything in your house that is using water, then go and watch your water meter. If it is still ticking over, something is using water so find where the leak is.
5. add some food dye (just a few drops should do it) to the cistern of your toilet(s) before you go out for a few hours. If the colour is in the bowl when you get back, your toilet is leaking. (Note you will need ot start agin if someone flushes the toilet before you test it!)
6. put a dry bucket under garden taps for a while. If it remains dry, no leak - a wet bucket means leaks…
7. look at your hot water service - is there a pool of water or mud around it? Remeber that a hot water leak also wastes heating energy and costs as well as water so its well worth keeping an eye on.

So we challenge you to find any and all leaks in your house over the next week. Share how you found the leaks, too.

For the sake of comparison, record your water meter readings today and just before you fix any leaks. Then do it again a week or so later. How much water did you save by fixing those leaks?

Posted: December 1st, 2007 under challenges, general, saving water.
Comments: none

When’s the last time you had a sponge bath? Or maybe you don’t remember ever having one?

Personally, I remember having a few back when we had no gas for a while so hot water was scarce. I’d boil the kettle twice, pouring the water into the laundry trough each time. Using a fash washer, I’d sponge myself and by then the water had cooled enough to bath my baby in the trough.

It is much more convenient to jump in the shower - and washing my hair is much easier that way! But the amount of water we ocudl all save by taking the occasional sponge bath is amazing. Did you know that the average three minute shower uses 27 litres of water? Well, that’s for an efficient shower head - it can go up to about 60 litres with a poor shower head.

A sponge bath can be done with 4 litres comfortably, and a lot less if necessary.

So are you up for a challenge? Can you swap to a sponge bath once a week or once a fortnight? If you can get everyone in your household to do it, watch your water metre and see what difference you are making.

Good luck!

Posted: November 12th, 2007 under challenges, saving water.
Comments: none