Water bills keep going up, and if you’re like most people in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, you’re probably looking for ways to cut costs without making your life harder. The good news is you don’t need to install expensive rainwater tanks or rip out your entire plumbing system to make a real difference to your water usage.

Most of these tips are pretty straightforward, and once you get into the habit, you won’t even notice you’re doing them. Some might save you a few dollars a month, others could save you hundreds over a year. Either way, it’s money that stays in your pocket instead of going down the drain. Literally.

Fix Those Leaky Taps

I know, I know. You’ve been meaning to fix that dripping tap in the bathroom for months. Maybe even years. But a single dripping tap can waste thousands of litres of water per year. That’s a lot of water you’re paying for that’s just hitting the sink and going straight down the drain.

Most tap washers are cheap to replace and the job only takes about 15 minutes if you know what you’re doing. If you’re not confident with DIY, get a plumber in to sort it out. It’ll cost you a bit upfront but it’ll pay for itself pretty quickly through lower water bills.

The same goes for leaking toilets. If you hear your toilet quietly running water long after you’ve flushed it, that’s water being wasted. Sometimes it’s just a worn flapper valve that needs replacing. Other times it might be something more complicated. Either way, get it fixed.

Shorter Showers

Everyone loves a long, hot shower. I’m guilty of standing under the hot water for way too long, especially on cold Melbourne mornings. But showers are one of the biggest water users in most households.

Try cutting your shower time by just a few minutes. Set a timer on your phone if you need to. Or put on a song that’s about 4 minutes long and aim to be done by the time it finishes. You’d be surprised how much water you can save just by being a bit quicker.

If you’ve got kids, this can be a harder sell. Charlie loves splashing around in the bath, but we try to limit how often we fill the tub because it uses way more water than a shower.

Turn Off the Tap

This seems obvious, but plenty of people leave taps running when they don’t need to. Turn off the tap whilst you’re brushing your teeth. Turn it off whilst you’re soaping up your hands. Turn it off whilst you’re scrubbing dishes.

It’s one of those habits that feels a bit annoying at first but becomes automatic pretty quickly. And it makes a real difference over time.

Only Run Full Loads

Whether it’s your washing machine or your dishwasher, only run them when they’re full. Half-empty loads waste water and energy.

I know sometimes you need that specific item of clothing clean right now, but most of the time you can wait until you’ve got a full load. Same with the dishwasher. Stack it up over a day or two and run it when it’s properly full.

Modern washing machines and dishwashers are pretty efficient these days, but they still use a decent amount of water per cycle. Make sure you’re getting the most out of each cycle by filling them properly.

Upgrade Your Showerhead

If you’ve got an old showerhead, it’s probably using more water than it needs to. Newer water-efficient showerheads can cut your water usage significantly without making your shower feel weak or disappointing.

You can pick up a decent water-efficient showerhead from Bunnings for under $50. Installation is usually pretty simple, just unscrew the old one and screw on the new one. If your shower arm is a weird size or the thread is damaged, you might need a plumber, but most of the time it’s a straightforward swap.

The best part is you probably won’t even notice the difference in water pressure, but you’ll definitely notice the difference in your water bill.

Collect Water Whilst You Wait

When you turn on the hot water tap, it takes a while for the hot water to come through, especially if your hot water system is on the other side of the house. Instead of letting that cold water go down the drain, collect it in a bucket or jug.

You can use this water for your garden, to fill up the dog’s water bowl, to rinse things in the sink, or whatever else you need water for. It seems like a small thing, but it adds up over time.

I do this when I’m filling the kettle too. Instead of letting the tap run until the water gets cold, I just fill a container and use that water for something else later.

Mulch Your Garden Beds

If you’ve got garden beds, put down a thick layer of mulch. Mulch helps the soil retain moisture, which means you don’t need to water as often. It also helps keep weeds down, which is a nice bonus.

You can buy mulch pretty cheaply from most garden centres, or sometimes councils offer free mulch if you’re willing to pick it up yourself. Spread it around your plants and garden beds, and you’ll find you need to water much less frequently.

This is especially useful in Melbourne where we get those long, dry summers. Keeping moisture in the soil means your plants stay healthier with less water.

Water Your Garden at the Right Time

If you’re watering your garden during the middle of the day, you’re wasting a lot of water through evaporation. Water early in the morning or in the evening when it’s cooler. The water has a better chance of soaking into the soil instead of evaporating into the air.

Also, water the soil, not the leaves. Plants absorb water through their roots, not their leaves. Watering the leaves just wastes water and can sometimes encourage fungal diseases.

If you’ve got a sprinkler system, make sure it’s actually watering your garden and not just the driveway or footpath. I’ve seen plenty of sprinklers that are pointed in completely the wrong direction, just spraying water onto concrete all day.

Use a Broom, Not a Hose

When you need to clean your driveway, paths, or patio, use a broom instead of hosing it down. Hosing uses a massive amount of water for something that a broom can do just as well.

I know it’s quicker and easier to just blast everything with the hose, but it’s also incredibly wasteful. Save the hose for things that actually need water.

Install a Dual-Flush Toilet

If you’ve still got an old single-flush toilet, it’s probably using way more water per flush than it needs to. Dual-flush toilets let you choose between a half flush and a full flush depending on what you need.

Most modern houses have dual-flush toilets already, but if you’re in an older place, it might be worth upgrading. You don’t need to replace the whole toilet, sometimes you can just replace the cistern mechanism to convert it to dual-flush.

This is one of those things where the upfront cost pays for itself pretty quickly through reduced water usage.

Wash Your Car Smarter

If you wash your car at home, use a bucket instead of running the hose the whole time. Fill the bucket, wash the car, then use the hose just for rinsing. You’ll use a fraction of the water you would if you left the hose running the entire time.

Alternatively, take your car to a car wash that recycles water. Many commercial car washes these days are actually more water-efficient than washing at home because they recycle and filter the water they use.

Check Your Water Meter

Your water meter can tell you if you’ve got a leak somewhere you don’t know about. Turn off all taps and appliances that use water in your house, then check your water meter. If it’s still moving, you’ve got a leak somewhere.

Sometimes leaks happen underground or in walls where you can’t see them. These can waste enormous amounts of water and money without you even knowing. If your water meter shows movement when everything’s turned off, it’s time to call a plumber.

Reuse Greywater

Greywater is water from your bathroom sink, shower, or washing machine. In many cases, you can reuse this water in your garden instead of letting it go down the drain.

You need to be a bit careful with this. Don’t use water that’s got harsh chemicals in it, and don’t use it on edible plants. But for watering lawn, trees, and ornamental plants, greywater works fine.

Some people set up elaborate greywater systems, but you can start simple. Put a bucket in your shower to catch some of the water whilst you’re waiting for it to heat up, then use that for watering plants.

Don’t Flush Things That Don’t Need Flushing

Your toilet isn’t a bin. Every time you flush, you’re using several litres of water. Don’t flush tissues, cotton buds, or anything else that should go in the bin instead.

This seems obvious, but plenty of people treat their toilet like a magical disposal unit for anything they don’t want to put in the bin. Put tissues in the bin, not the toilet. Your water usage will go down, and you’ll also reduce the risk of blocked drains.

Insulate Your Hot Water Pipes

If your hot water pipes aren’t insulated, you’re losing heat as the water travels from your hot water system to your taps. This means you need to run the tap longer to get hot water, which wastes water.

Pipe insulation is cheap and easy to install. You can pick it up from Bunnings and do it yourself in an afternoon. It’ll help your hot water arrive faster, which means less water down the drain whilst you wait.

Keep a Jug of Water in the Fridge

Instead of running the tap until the water gets cold enough to drink, keep a jug of water in the fridge. It’s always cold when you want it, and you’re not wasting water running the tap.

This is one of those tiny changes that doesn’t seem like much, but if everyone in your household is doing it multiple times a day, it adds up.

The Bottom Line

None of these tips require massive changes to your lifestyle or expensive equipment. Most of them are just about being a bit more conscious of how you’re using water and making small adjustments to reduce waste.

You don’t need to do everything on this list. Even if you just pick a few things that seem easy to implement in your household, you’ll probably notice a difference in your water bill within a few months.

Water’s only going to get more expensive, especially with Melbourne’s population growing and climate change making droughts more common. Getting into better water-saving habits now means you’ll be ahead of the curve when water restrictions come back around or when prices go up again.

Plus, it’s just good for the environment. Using less water means less strain on our water supply and less energy needed to treat and pump water to your house. It’s one of those rare situations where doing the right thing also saves you money.