Front or Top Load Washing Machine

When choosing your washing machine for water saving, frontload machines win hands down over top load. A top loader uses up to 40 gallons of water, which is a hefty amount compared to the lesser 10 gallons a frontload machine uses. Also remember, most of the washing machines power goes to heating the water. A frontload washing machine has less water, so less energy is used to heat it. Of course, cold wash is an even better option.
http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/163/1/Green-washing-machines.html

Shower instead of Bath

This might be the oldest tip in the Green industry, but it’s still a true fact. A 5 minute showers can use up to a third less water than that of a bath. That’s 50 litres every time.
http://generous.org.uk/actions/simply/12/shower-more-bath-less

Don’t be a Drip

• Check that all your taps are always properly closed.
• Replace washers on dripping taps.
• If a tap is dripping, place a bowl or bucket under the tap until it gets fixed.
• Use the collected water to water your plants.

Basin
• Ensure the taps don't drip.
• Use the cold water tap to wash your hands instead of hot water.
• Keep the water pressure as low as possible.
• Ensure that your taps don't leak. Replace the washers in the taps when necessary.
• If the tap is dripping, place a cup or bowl under the tap (until it gets fixed) and re-use the collected water in your garden or elsewhere. This way it's not literally "money down the drain"!
• Make sure the taps are turned off properly after use.
• When you are brushing your teeth turn the tap off between wetting your toothbrush and rinsing.
• When you are shaving turn off the tap between wetting your face and razor and rinsing. Fill the basin with a little water to rinse your blade while shaving instead of rinsing it under running water.
• Install flow regulators.

Showering and Bathing
• Check that the taps are turned off properly after your shower or once you've run your bath.
• Install flow regulators or aerators.
• Dripping taps waste a lot of water.

Showering
• Have a short shower instead of a bath.
• Ensure that your shower head doesn't leak.
• Exchange your existing showerhead with a water efficient shower rose/ showerhead.
• If you're redoing your bathroom request a water efficient shower rose/head.
• A regular pressured shower uses between 6 and 10 litres of water per minute (depends on pressure and size of shower head).
• A 5 minute shower means 30 - 50 litres of water are consumed.
• A high pressured shower head dispenses between 15 and 20 litres of water per minute!
• A 5 minute high powered shower means 75- 100 litres of water! A 10 minute full powered shower means 150-200 litres of water!
• This means that a family of four each having one 5- minute shower a day uses more than 100 000 litres of water per year!
• If you have a high-powered shower then only use half the power when showering. This will decrease the amount of water used per minute.
• Limit your time in the shower.
• Be conscious of how long you are in the shower for. Time yourself and see how long you spend in the shower. Make an effort to increase the number of shorter showers you take versus long showers.
• If you always have long showers, then start with choosing to have a shorter shower once or twice a week. Or better still have shorter showers everyday and have your longer shower as a weekly/monthly treat.
• Switch off the water between soaping and rinsing.
• If you wash your hair in the shower, switch off the water between lathering and rinsing.
• Place a bucket in your shower which you can stand in and use the water captured in your garden.\
• Install flow regulators.

Bathing
A standard built-in bath has a holding capacity of between 160 and 220 litres of water. (There are variations depending on the exact size and shape.) Some of the larger luxury baths have more than double this capacity!

• Ensure that the taps don't leak. In addition to staining your bath, the water is money down the drain.
• Run a shallow bath of water instead of a full bath.
• If you tend to fill your bath every time you bath, then limit your full bath to once a week and the rest of the time use half the amount of water.
• Although generally shower uses less water than bathing - a little water in the bath is better than a long full-pressured shower. (See litres above).
• Scoop the water from the bath into a bucket and re-use it in the garden.
• Share your bathwater.

Toilet
Cisterns vary in size. Unless there is dual-flush option, each time you flush you use between 6 and 11 litres of water. The amount of water flushed out of a conventional cistern is not variable, and so the maximum volume of water is flushed out every time.

This amount of water is not needed every time you flush, which means that billions of litres of water are wasted every year. This becomes an expensive resource that goes down toilet!

• When purchasing a new toilet - where possible select a dual flush toilet. And check the size of the cistern. The larger the cistern the more water the toilet uses (and the more it costs each time you flush.)
• If you have a flush handle toilet, pick up the handle once it's flushed.
• Install a dual flush mechanism.
• Dual flushers give you the option of using a less flush option of 3.5-4 litres (for liquid) or a greater flush option of 6-9 litres (for solids). Often the 3.5-4 litre flush is suitable for solids too.
• They can be installed in most toilets. Depending on the number of people in the household, you can save hundreds or thousands of litres of water a month. The savings on your water bill will justify the cost of the dual flush mechanism within months. And you will be saving thousands of litres of precious water.
• Depending on the size of your cistern, place a half litre, one litre or two litre plastic bottle of water in the cistern. Ensure that the bottle is stable, and does not interfere with any of the toilet's mechanisms. This reduces the amount of inlet (refill) water into the cistern. Check it regularly.
• Putting a brick in the cistern is not the best solution as it can obstruct the outflow. Also if it falls over when the cistern is empty it can knock a hole in the tank.
• Bend the float arm downwards, so less water is allowed to refill the cistern. You may need to remove the arm from the cistern first, and then reinstall it once the arm is bent sufficiently.
• If you use the toilet a lot, then don't flush everytime - only when you need to.
• Don't throw rubbish or cigarettes into the toilet.
• Ensure that the toilet mechanism valve washer in the cistern is fitted correctly so that the toilet doesn't leak.
• Automatic flushing urinals, found in schools and factories, are water wasters.
• Switch the water off after hours and over weekends.
• They should be modified to be user activated.
• Ensure that your toilet does not have a leak. Check it on a regular basis and get it fixed immediately if there is a leak. A basic leak increases the water consumption considerably.

Leaking toilets
• A leaking toilet can waste in excess of 20 litres of water per hour! Add that up over a day or week.
• A visible leak can be seen and heard - water running down the back of the toilet. Repair immediately.
• It may be that the toilet mechanism valve washer is not being fitted properly and needs to be adjusted, or the washer may need replacing. If you are unsure call a plumber or handyman.
• Check for invisible or silent leaks by pouring food colouring into the cistern, so that the colour of the water changes. If the water in the toilet changes colour within half an hour you have a leak.
• The washer may need replacing. This little exercise will save you thousands of litres of water.
• The cost of a plumber will pay for itself in the water savings costs. The long term financial cost of the thousands of litres of water wasted will far outweigh the cost of a plumber or handyman to fix the leak.
• If you spot a leak in a toilet at your workplace, school, sportsclub, movie theatre, shopping centre or anywhere - report it to management, and insist that something gets done.

Geyser and Pipes
• Insulate your geyser and pipes so the water retains its heat longer. Cold water is wasted while waiting for the water to heat up.

Leaking Pipes
Leaking pipes waste water and cost you money. A quick way to check if you have any leaking pipes:
• Check your water meter.
• Don't run any water for an hour.
• Recheck your meter.
• If the meter has moved you have a leak.