Water is an important part of our daily lives and we use it for a wide variety of purposes, from waking up in the morning, taking a shower, brushing our teeth – to grabbing a cup of coffee or tea, but do we understand how much we use?

In our local communities, water also plays a big role. Local businesses and industries use water, fire fighting, municipal parks and public swimming pools all needs water. Public water systems that bring reliable water supply to our taps every day.

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” – Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Where does all this water come from?

“Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface. It is vital for all known forms of life. On Earth, 96.5% of the planet’s crust water is found in seas and oceans, 1.7% in groundwater, 1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction in other large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapour, clouds (formed of ice and liquid water suspended in air) and precipitation. Only 2.5% of this water is freshwater and 98.8% of that water is in ice (excepting ice in clouds) and groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth’s freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products. A greater quantity of water is found in the earth’s interior.” – Wikipedia

Heating water for showering, bathing, shaving, cooking and cleaning also requires a considerable amount of energy. Homes with electric water heaters, for example, spend one-fourth of their total electric bills just to heat water. Therefore, you can’t have water without energy and with energy comes the bills.

Adapting simple steps and using water-saving technologies will help reduce the energy consumed at home and ensure reliable water supplies today and for the future generations. Preventing water pollution in nearby lakes, rivers and local watersheds are also one of the benefits of water conservation.

Small things can make a big difference in an overall view. This can be applied to our daily life, especially in the laundry or in the kitchen area. How do we lower the overall water usage in these areas? Ways to conserve water:

Laundry water saving tips

• Make sure you’ve got a full load of laundry before you hit the ‘start’ button on the washing machine.
• Measure laundry detergent and use HE detergents for HE high-efficiency top-loaders and front-loaders. Regular detergents are too sudsy and using too much can cause these washers to use more water by extending the rinse cycle.
• Select the right setting for the load. The heavy-duty soil setting can use more water and extends wash time. For most loads, the normal settings will do.
• Appropriate water level setting— often small, medium or large—for the load if that’s how your machine works. This feature automatically determines the load size and the amount of water needed.

Dishwasher water saving tips

• Run full loads of dishes only.
• Install a new ENERGY STAR high-efficiency model to save water and energy.
• Pre-rinsing is not required with many new dishwashers. Read the instruction manual for your machine to determine if you can minimise the rinse water usage.

See Mainline Plumbing & Cheap Hot Water & Gas weekly tips to get some great money saving ideas.

Call in and see the friendly team at 144 Forrest Avenue in Bunbury for all your needs.