PEL Women’s Programs

How to save water & money in your kitchen

Only use a full dishwasher. Believe it or not, one load of dishes per day uses about 14,500 litres of water a year, Also use the shortest cycle
Turn off the rinse water when hand-washing dishes. With two sinks, partially fill both: one with soapy water and the other with rinse water. With one sink, rinse the washed dishes in a pan full of hot water or in a dish rack with a spray
Keep your drinking water in the fridge. This saves leaving the tap running while you wait for cold water
Install a low-flow aerator on your taps. This reduces water use by 25 %
Water should be the only thing that goes down your drain. Use a composter, green bin or garbage for food waste
Wash your food in a bowl rather than under a running tap
Defrost food in your fridge, not in cold water

Note: A steady drip from your kitchen faucet can waste up to 55 litres of water in just 24 hours.

How to save water & money in the bathroom

Replace old toilets with low flush toilets and reduce water usage per flush from 20 litres to 6 litres or less
Fix leaking toilets. A leaky toilet can waste up to 200,000 litres of water in a year. (Test for leaks by adding a few drops of food colouring to your tank. If after 15 minutes without flushing, colour shows up in your tank, you have a leak)
Install a new water-efficient showerhead. The older showerheads use from 15 to 30 liters of water per minute, while the new ones use less than 10 litres per minute
Replace the aerator on your tap with a water-efficient one
Don’t run the tap continuously when washing, brushing your teeth or shaving

Note: We use about 50% of our indoor water in our bathrooms.

How to save water & money in the laundry room

Purchase a front-loading, high-efficiency washing machine. It uses 40% less water and 60% less energy than a conventional top-loading
Only wash a full load of laundry. Use the right water level to match the size of the load. High-efficiency washers automatically adjust the water level to the size of the load.
Save on your dry-cleaning bills. Most “dry-clean only” clothes can be washed in a front-loading high-efficiency washing machine

Note: Your laundry room is the 2nd largest water user inside your home.