Saving Water with Flat Weave Towels

We recently hosted a competition to raise awareness for the Western Cape water crisis. The critical shortages mean that we are all faced with the looming reality of water cuts and environmental disasters.

We asked our followers on Facebook and Instagram to share their water saving initiatives with us and it was amazing to see the response from people who are going great lengths to save every drop they can.

Congratulations to Leila Badsha, the lucky winner of a new set of Mungo bath sheets, which in their own small way (excuse the pun) will help save water. Compared to the traditional terry towel, the low bulk and compact nature of our flatweave towels allows one to fit nearly double into the washing machine. We even did an experiment to prove it (see video below).

Today we sifted through all the responses and compiled a list of our favourite water saving tips:

In the Bathroom

• Shower in intervals, switching off the water whilst lathering soap or shampoo.
• Invest in water saving, low flow showerheads.
• Turn the tap off whilst brushing your teeth.
• Shower for 1 to 2 minutes instead of taking a bath.
• Collect the cold water in a bucket whilst waiting for the hot. This is clean water that can be used for drinking. Change the buckets and use the soapy water for flushing the toilet, washing the car, cleaning the floors and windows etc.
• Shower in your sports kit to save doing a load of laundry every day (this one’s an interesting one!)
• If you’re a couple, shower together.
• Follow the useful loo flushing tactics and flush when necessary. Use a drop of Salvlon instead of flushing if it’s yellow.
• Create a DIY water displacement device for your toilet: fill an empty water bottle up with stones and water. Screw the lid on tight and place it in your cistern. There won’t be as much space to refill after every flush.
• Deactivate the long flush button on your toilet.

In the Kitchen

• Only wash the dishes once a day. If you use a dishwasher make sure it is full before turning it on.
• Be more conscious when cooking. Instead of using every utensil in the kitchen try and keep it to just a few to save unnecessary washing.

In the Laundry

• Make sure your washing load is completely full and use short cycles.
• Collect the water from the rinse cycle and use it to start the next load.
• Only wash towels and bedding every second week.
• There is no need to wash your clothes after every wear. Airing them and ironing them works well.

In the Garden

• Harvest rain water from the roof and use it for gardening.
• If you have a pool you can run a pipe from the roof into it to collect water for gardening.
• Invest in a rain water tanks.
• Buy succulents and other water-wise plants for the garden and home.

In General

• Buy waterless hand sanitizer or wet wipes to wash your hands.
• This company makes a fine spray nozzle to attach to your taps which saves 98% of the water coming out! Check out their video.
• Water saving devices which reduce water flow can also be purchased from this local company.
• Opt for eco-friendly soap and shampoos so that grey water can be used for more than just pouring down the loo.
• If you leave the house for the weekend or any long period of time, make sure to turn off the mains. This ensures that no water is wasted if an unnoticed pipe burst or springs a leak.
• It’s all about changing our perception of ‘dirty’. Shower less… none of this twice a day business. You can cut back on showers by going for a swim in the sea and making use of this beautiful Cape summer. Don’t forget to take your Mungo towel with.

A big thanks to everyone who contributed and keep doing what you are doing to save water!