You’ll be paying more for water. But make some smart choices, and saving money on your water bill is easier than you think, as Davelle Lee found out.
➊ Get a dishwasher
Who’d have thought a dishwasher could end up saving you cash? That’s because it uses two to ve times less water than washing your dirty plates by hand – especially if you leave the tap running while you’re at it.
Make yours work harder, says Chua Leng Leng, marketing director at Bosch Home Appliances, by placing the larger and heavier crockery in the bottom basket, along the sides and back, so they don’t obstruct the jets of water from hitting other items. Also, arrange all dishes face down, with no overlap.
➋ Use a frontloading washing machine
If you didn’t already know, front-loaders are way more efficient and use about half the amount of water compared to toploaders. Sure, they cost more upfront, but they’re worth it.
Get one that has a four-tick efficiency label (the lowest rating is one tick) issued by national water agency PUB. A four-tick machine uses six litres of water or less per kilogram of laundry.
➌ Wash your car at home
When you next get your ride hosed down at a petrol station, ask yourself if that giant metal can is worth wasting 100 litres of water on. Grab a bucket – which holds about 10 litres – and a sponge instead. You’ll get a good workout, and use just 30 litres of water each time.
Or go water-free with Carverage Wash (www.carveragewash. com). Professional car washers will clean your car at your doorstep using a non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning solution, then wipe it down with a microbre cloth that catches all the dirt suspended in the solution. A single wash starts from $23.
➍ Get a better shower head
You’ll need to, because here’s the shocker: leave the tap running during a 30-minute shower, and that’s 270 litres of water down the drain each time.
So quit that habit, then check the PUB’s list at https://app.pub. gov.sg/wels/Pages/ ListOfProducts.aspx to see if the shower head you’re eyeing makes the cut.