Why saving water is so important

Only around 2.5% of the world's water is freshwater, and only around 0.3% of this is directly available to us. Climate change-related dry periods and hot spells with little precipitation lower groundwater levels. This leads to poorer soil conditions and the death of plants. At the same time, the demand for drinking water increases. In many countries, many people have no access to clean water, as it is often contaminated and can only be made drinkable through costly purification. The average per capita consumption in Austria and Germany is around 130 liters per day - only a small proportion of which is actually drunk. Saving water is therefore urgently needed.

With our recommendations, we want to help raise awareness of the need to use this scarce resource sparingly - for the good of the environment.

Where can water be saved?

There are many areas where water can be saved: at home, on the road or on vacation. Improvements can be made with little effort, especially in the bathroom, but also in the kitchen and garden. Even small changes can have a big impact.

As the bathroom accounts for the largest proportion of domestic water consumption, it is worth starting there. Gradually integrate individual tips into your everyday life - many of them require hardly any change.

How can you reduce water consumption?

Using less drinking water doesn't have to be complicated or restrictive. Shorter or less frequent showers are one option, but not the only one. Technical aids such as water-saving attachments for showers and washbasins reduce consumption without you noticing it in everyday life - and without any loss of comfort.

Even small actions such as repairing leaking taps or using the smaller flush button on the toilet save a lot. Our consumer behavior also influences our water consumption: foods such as meat, cocoa, coffee or avocados require a lot of water during production. If you rethink your consumption, you can make additional savings.

1. Shower instead of bathing and use innovative shower inserts : A full bath requires around 180 liters of water, a five-minute shower with a 12-liter shower head around 60 liters. With special shower inserts such as the Ecowaterjet by rabmer, consumption in the shower can even be reduced by up to 50 % to up to 6 liters/minute without reducing showering comfort. Please do not replace the existing shower heads with economy shower heads, as this would result in mountains of waste from shower heads that are still in working order.

2. Use flow limiters: These reduce the water flow, e.g. when washing your hands or at the kitchen sink, by up to 60 %, often without any noticeable loss of pressure.

3. Use water consciously - turn off the tap when brushing your teeth, shaving or soaping up.

4. Use the economy flush button - The small button or a stop function when flushing the toilet can reduce water consumption by up to half.

5. Clean fruit and vegetables in a bowl - this way you save water and can then use it for watering, for example. Seasonal, regional products also often require less water during production.

6. Only start washing machines and dishwashers when they are fully loaded - this way they run less often and save water and energy.

7. Give preference to appliances with low water consumption - Pay attention to water consumption when buying household appliances.

8. Repairing leaking taps - A dripping tap can waste up to 45 liters a day. The problem can usually be fixed in just a few simple steps.

9. Using rainwater in the garden - A rain barrel from the DIY store is a cost-effective way to water plants sustainably.

10. Mow the lawn less often - Shorter lawns dry out more quickly and require more water.

Additional tip: Use environmentally friendly care and cleaning products to avoid pollutants in the water. Many conventional products contain ingredients such as microplastics or plasticizers that pollute drinking water