Everyday tip: How to save water in a rental apartment

There are big differences in water consumption between rental apartments. One home might use 50 litres per day and the other 300 litres. Luckily, it’s not difficult to save water - you just need to be mindful about your everyday water consumption habits.

We use water in so many ways: for showering, cooking, cleaning, laundry, washing dishes, and flushing the toilet. Every litre of water is consuming nature and your wallet. For example, the water footprint of a Finn in 2019 was almost 4 000 litres (HSY 2019).

Water - especially warm water - should be used moderately. To begin your water-saving journey, take a closer look at the way you use water daily. Here we have some water-saving tips for you.

Turn off the tap

Shower is the water consumption monster of Finnish homes. Merely a minute in the shower uses up to 15 litres of water from which 60 percent is heated. Please, turn the water off when you apply shampoo or soap, and try to shower in less time.

Don’t forget to turn off the tap when brushing your teeth, applying soap or shaving your beard.

An extra tip for the thirsty ones: You can skip running the water to get it cooler by thinking ahead and cooling the water in the fridge in a bottle or a pitcher.

Use less water while in sauna

While in sauna you might unwittingly use more water than necessary. It’s nice to shower before the first ´löyly´ and wash yourself after the last one, but in between the best way to cool down is to take a breather in the dressing room or on the balcony/terrace instead of showering.

Reuse water

Don’t throw away the water after boiling potatoes or eggs. You can use it for watering the plants after it’s cooled down.

Wash vegetables and fruits in a bowl, and you can use that leftover water for your greeneries, too!

Dishwasher saves water and energy

If you have a dishwasher, please use it. The dishwasher is great for saving water because it uses just the amount of water it needs. Take notice that newer appliances will be more energy efficient and will use less water than the older appliances.

New washing machine beats the old in efficiency

Aim to wash only full drums of clothing. A newer washing machine already uses less water, and it often has energy saving programs which allow you to save even more water.

If your home building has a shared laundry room, use it especially for larger amounts of clothes or linen. The bigger machines are more efficient both in their time and water usage.

Leaky water fixture needs fast repairing

Did you know that even a small leak in the toilet can amount to litres of water? If you notice a leaky water fixture in your SATOhome, please inform us via OmaSATO.

See how sustainability is part of SATO's everyday life »

The original article was published in 21.3.2018.