Using water wisely

Waterwise home

Kitchen

There are many ways to use water efficiently in the kitchen.

Illustration of a dishwasher with two shelves, the top one has two wine glasses, a small and large white plate and an orange cup. The bottom tray has three plates side on, two orange bowls and a cutlery basket with a knife, fork and spoon.
  • Use the dishwasher only when full. Running a full load in a water-efficient dishwasher uses less water than washing dishes by hand. If leaving dishes overnight, use the dishwasher’s rinse function, rather than the sink.
  • Scrape your dishes and soak your pots and pans to remove food rather than rinsing them under running water.
  • Rinse vegetables in a plugged sink or basin, not under a running tap, and then use the water on your garden.
  • Don’t use running water to defrost food. Place your frozen food in the fridge to thaw overnight.
  • While waiting for water to heat, collect it in a bottle and put it in the fridge. Running a tap until it’s the right temperature wastes up to a bucket of water a minute.
  • Think before putting water down the sink! Empty water bottles onto the garden, pot plants or in pet bowls.

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In this guide

  1. Kitchen
  2. Bathroom
  3. Laundry
  4. Outdoors and pool
  5. Leaks

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Last updated:
4 October 2018