Easy ways to waste water (or not) around your home
Have you ever tried to put money down the drain? It's actually quite difficult. The two's usually fit easily, and the fives drop in without a hassle but the ones, twenties, and fifties present real problems. The notes tend to slide through the gaps ok at first but will start to clog up the pipe really quickly. Alternatively, you could try a method that thousands of residents across Sydney are using every day. Simply leave a dripping tap, running toilet, or leaking shower head for weeks and weeks without getting a plumber in to repair it.
This method will have your money disappearing down the drain so fast you won't know where it's all gone.
Another great way to waste water around your home is by using old, single flush toilets. Those bad boys can flush a whopping 12 litres of water down the sewer pipes every time you go for a tinkle.
That's around 1 1/4 buckets of water every time someone in your home goes to the loo, which can add up to around $760 in water costs over ten years. If you're looking to save money a dual flush, water efficient cistern will only leave a $250 dent in your paycheque over the same period.
A popular misconception we've noticed lately is that if you live in an apartment you are automatically saving on water and water costs. On the surface it makes perfect sense, there are no lawns to water, gardens to soak, or external walls to wash. But in reality, this assumption leads many apartment dwellers to take their eye off the water-saving ball and let plumbing problems like leaking taps, toilets, and pipes go unchecked wasting hundreds of litres a month.
A definite bonus of living in an apartment, especially if you've forked out the extra bucks for a place on the upper levels, is you have the opportunity to not only pour money down your own drain, but you can pour it down other people's as well.
Got a leaking dishwasher hose pipe? That little drip, drip, drip can wreck your kitchen cabinets as well as the ceiling in the apartment below yours. In this case, sharing is not caring.
Repair water leaks quickly in your apartment and make a habit of checking plumbing fixtures that may not be obvious during your general day to day routine, like the dishwasher hose, to catch the little problems before they become big ones.
What we're trying to get across in a very sarcastic way is if you'd rather use your cash for more practical expenses and think saving water is a good idea, we recommend calling a plumber to fix drips and water leaks as soon as you find them.
References - waterrating.gov.au/consumers/water-efficiency
