Going round and round in circles… Saving water in the laundry

Front-loading machines can save up to 40 per cent more water than top loaders. They save energy too!

Next to the bathroom and toilet, the laundry is the biggest guzzler of water indoors.

Using between 16 to 22 per cent of all water in the home, doing the weekly laundry can really take a toll on the water bill. An average family of four does about eight and a half loads of washing a week. That can work out to be 1,800 litres every week, depending on how much water your washing machine uses.

You can help save water by doing the following things

• Make sure you put all of your dirty clothes in the laundry basket, and wait until you have a full load before putting it through the washing machine.
• If you happen to have one piece of clothing you desperately need washed, try washing it by hand. If you only have a small load that needs to go into the machine, set the washing machine on partial load and ease up on the detergent.
• Use the recommended type and amount of detergent for your washing machine. That way, you won’t ruin the washing machine or your clothes – and you can help wastewater to be recycled more easily.
• A dripping tap can waste more than 2,000 litres of water a month! Look out for dripping taps in the laundry sink or leaking pipes behind your washing machine or under the sink. Damp, soft or stained walls and floors around plumping pipes are a good indication that there’s some internal leaking.
• Front-loading machines save 40 per cent more water than top loaders and also use less energy when heating water. The next time your family decides to buy a new washing machine, get them to think about investing in a front loader.