After all, we live in the desert, so we know water is pretty scarce, and yet our water-wasting habits continue – from teeth brushing to toilet flushing, here are some of the main culprits in water wasting habits that we should be taking stock of and trying to minimize.

Running the dishwasher half full

So, you’ve got a few plates to clean and it’s a force of habit to throw everything into the dishwasher. Either hand wash those plates, or wait to fill the whole dishwasher, otherwise, you’re looking at a poor use of both water and electricity as you run up those DEWA bills.

Brushing your teeth and leaving the water running

We brush our teeth twice a day and it takes a few minutes, but why is it that so many of us leave the tap running while we brush? It makes no sense, and I think of when I go camping and use a little bit of water to brush my teeth – it should be the same, and sometimes we become so oblivious to these habits until we are really lacking the resources before we notice them.

Using the washing machine with a few items inside

This is a pet peeve of mine, because I literally pack everything into the machine before I run a wash through. You’re looking at using between 8-12 gallons of water with every cycle, and that’s with the really efficient washing machines – the old ones use even more! Just be a little mindful of these daily tasks when you’re getting through your list of things to do.

Leaving the shower running

We leave the water running until it runs hot – this takes a couple of seconds, so why are we walking around, doing random stuff around the house while the shower heats up? Or when washing our hair, just turn the shower off for a couple of minutes, it makes all the difference.

Using the toilet to flush just about everything

We know what we use the toilet for and yet a lot of us are turning it into a bin, flushing wipes, buds, pads, etc and you’re looking at about 2-6 gallons of water per flush – depending on the age of your toilet. The newer ones are far more efficient, using around 1.5 gallons per flush. But also, maybe just use a bin for your toiletries, and save the toilet for personal waste.

Washing dishes with running water

I put my hand up to this one, I need to get better at this, because like a lot of us, I clean everything under running water. We should be soaking our dirty dishes in a bowl of soapy water and then just rinsing them after, as it saves a lot of water in the long run.