Understand the water consumption of an average household and explore ways to reduce water use with Cobra. Read more…
Understand the water consumption of an average household and explore ways to reduce water use with Cobra.
Water usage facts
Water consumption is the volume of water used that is not returned to a renewable water source. Water use is the overall volume of water that a household uses including that which is repurposed or recycled within that household a few times over. A household of four people is estimated to use between 300 and 800 litres of water per day. It’s estimated that 24% of household water is used for toilet flushing, 12% is lost to leaks, 17% is used for clothes washing, 19% for tap use, 20% is used in the shower, and 8%is used for other applications. (Source: Water Research Foundation, Residential End Uses of Water, Version 2.2016)
A good understanding of your personal water consumption may encourage you to discuss water-saving with your friends and family. To assist with the conversation, here are a few water consumption facts we have gathered to highlight just how much water gets used in a standard home.
Flush with Poopose
A single flush cistern loo uses between 9 and 11 litres of water per flush, whilst a dual flush cistern uses 3 litres for a half flush and 6 litres for a full flush. While it's recommended to install this sort of water-smart toilet technology in your home, applying the rule; “if it's yellow, let it mellow, but brown gets flushed down”, can save significant water use in your home.
Shorten Shower Hour
Running a shower fitted with Cobra water-saving technology can reduce water use from 19 litres per minute all the way down to 9 litres per minute, cutting the water used to shower by half. Reduction of the amount of time taken to shower coupled with the installation of water-conscious products, you can achieve drastic savings on your home water usage.
Harvest your Bathwater
Taking a bath can utilise between 50 and 150 litres of water, however there are ways to conserve water which don’t necessarily require you to adjust the depth the bath is filled to. As a start, bathe smaller children together, share bathwater where possible, and implement useful ways to repurpose this greywater elsewhere. For example, you can safely use re-purposed bath water for your garden, house cleaning, or harvesting runoff into a collection tank for off-season watering. As long as there is a plan to re-purpose bathwater, there is no reason not to enjoy a guilt-free soak in the tub.
Small Change Big Impact
While general home water use, including hand washing, cooking, cleaning, and teeth brushing, can see an average household use an estimated 18 litres per person, per day, initiating little changes to your home’s water habits can have a big impact on cutting down your daily water use. A great example of this is turning the tap off between brushing and rinsing your teeth, saving up to 5 litres of water per brush. Another tip is to turn the tap off while washing your hands between lathering and rinsing. Other general home water use can be reduced by investing in good quality non-stick cookware that is easy to wipe clean, thus requiring less water to wash. You can also spot clean your kitchen counters and floors using an alcohol-based sanitiser to disinfect lightly soiled surfaces.
Through actions such as better understanding your water consumption, harvesting and recycling greywater, incorporating Cobra water-saving technology into your home, and incorporating the above water-conscious habits into your lifestyle, your household can help to promote long-term water sustainability.