Water is a hot commodity. It's time to do a water usage audit of your home.

You use ample amount of water every day in your household, but have you ever done an audit of the same. It is important because doing so you can save upto 40% of the water every year. You will be amazed by the result and realize how much water you waste unintentionally every day. The main areas of water usage include the kitchen, the laundry, the bathroom, and the outdoors. Here are some simple tips to save water in each of them individually.

The Kitchen: The kitchen use up to 10% of water for cooking, drinking and washing up. A dishwasher can use upto 10 to 12 liters of water. Fill your sink with water(twice or thrice) and rinse dishes instead under running water. Replace the washer of dripping taps whenever there is a leakage. 

The Laundry: The laundry is again a bigger water consumer, around 15 to 20% of water is being used for washing clothes. We mainly use washing machines for washing clothes. Prefer a front load washing machine over a top loading machine as the former saves water as well as energy. Switch on the machine when it is fully loaded only to save upto 10 liters per wash. 

The Bathroom: Use water efficient shower heads to save water while taking a shower. For a bath, fill the bucket with the required water only and do not throw away excess water. While brushing teeth or shaving, close tap water when not in use. While waiting for the water to run hot, place a bucket under the tap to collect water and use it for gardening or washing the car. Use a good quality flush as it uses about 6 liters of water every time you flush. Check for leaks regularly and fix it immediately. 

The Outdoors: Use a pool cover or blanket to minimize evaporation. An uncovered pool uses around 6766 liters of water to evaporation every year. It takes about 300 liters of water to wash the car. Use a bucket to wash the car and do not let run the water unnecessarily. Prefer water-wise plants and lawns for the garden and make use of irrigation drippers and native plants to save water. 

This water audit will help you to recognize the key wastage areas of your home. Also, consider installing a good quality water storage tank such as Penguin Tank to save water and energy.