Domakihub 10 Practical Ways to Save Water at Home (and Cut Your Bills)
Small daily habits that add up to big savings on water and energy costs.
Reviewed by Domakihub home & decor pros · 2026-06-23 · 4 min read
Greece has one of the sunniest climates in Europe, but that same sunshine also makes freshwater a genuinely scarce resource — especially on the islands. Whether you manage a family home, a holiday rental, or a small hotel, trimming water use protects both your bills and the local supply. The video above walks through ten approachable techniques; the steps below turn those ideas into a concrete action plan you can follow room by room.
Why Water Conservation Matters More in Greece
Greece draws heavily on groundwater and seasonal rainfall, and many islands have no river supply at all — water is either trucked in by tanker or pumped from shallow aquifers that recharge slowly. Summers are long and dry, demand spikes from tourism, and utility tariffs rise steeply once you pass base-consumption thresholds. The financial pressure and the environmental pressure point in the same direction: use less.
For landlords and property managers, water is often one of the largest variable costs. A leaking toilet or an uninsulated hot-water pipe can waste thousands of litres a month without anyone noticing. A systematic approach — not just individual good habits — is what delivers lasting reductions.
The Two Levers: Behaviour and Infrastructure
Most water-saving advice focuses on behaviour (shorter showers, turning off the tap while brushing teeth), and that behaviour genuinely matters. But the bigger, durable wins usually come from small infrastructure upgrades: aerators on taps, dual-flush toilet mechanisms, and timers on irrigation systems. These are one-time investments that keep saving water even when guests or tenants pay no attention to conservation.
Combining both levers — smarter habits plus smarter fittings — is how properties in comparable climates routinely cut water consumption by 30–50 percent without any noticeable drop in comfort.
5 Steps to a Water-Efficient Home
- 1
Fix Leaks Before Anything Else
A dripping tap wastes up to 15 litres per day; a running toilet can waste 200 litres. Before investing in any new fittings, do a full leak audit. Turn off every tap and appliance, note your meter reading, wait one hour, and check again. Any movement on the meter confirms a hidden leak. Check toilet cisterns with a dye tablet or a drop of food colouring — if colour appears in the bowl without flushing, the flap valve needs replacing. This single step often delivers the biggest water saving of anything on this list.
- 2
Fit Low-Flow Aerators and Showerheads
Standard tap aerators flow at 12–15 litres per minute. Replacing them with 4–6 litre-per-minute aerators costs €3–8 per tap, takes two minutes to screw on, and is undetectable in normal use. The same logic applies to showerheads: a water-efficient model rated at 6–8 litres per minute versus a standard 12-litre head cuts shower water use in half. For holiday rentals and hotels, upgrading all bathrooms at the start of the season pays back within weeks during peak occupancy.
- 3
Rethink Your Toilet Flushing
Toilets account for roughly 30 percent of indoor water use in most homes. If your cistern is older than ten years it almost certainly uses 9–13 litres per flush. Fitting a dual-flush conversion kit (available for €15–30) brings full flushes down to 6 litres and half-flushes to 3 litres. For properties undergoing any bathroom renovation, specifying a 4/2.6 litre dual-flush suite from the start costs nothing extra compared with a standard unit.
- 4
Water the Garden at the Right Time
Irrigation in the middle of a Greek summer day loses 30–50 percent of water to evaporation before it reaches roots. Schedule automated systems or manual watering for the hour after sunrise or the two hours before sunset. Group plants by water need (most Mediterranean natives need very little once established), add a 5–8 cm mulch layer around beds to hold moisture, and consider switching sprinkler zones to drip lines, which deliver water directly to the root zone with minimal loss. A rain sensor on any automated system prevents irrigation running straight after rainfall.
- 5
Adopt Short, Smart Habits in the Kitchen and Laundry
Run dishwashers and washing machines on full loads only — a half-load at the same cycle still uses close to the same water volume. When washing fruit and vegetables, use a bowl rather than running water and tip the bowl water onto pot plants afterwards. Keep a jug of cold water in the fridge instead of running the tap until the water cools. In the laundry, choose the shortest adequate cycle and, if your machine has an eco-mode, use it: eco programmes heat water more slowly but use significantly less of it overall.
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FAQ
- How much water does the average Greek household use per day?
- The Greek national average is around 150–180 litres per person per day. On tourist islands the figure rises sharply in summer due to hospitality demand. An efficient household using the measures in this guide can comfortably get below 100 litres per person per day.
- Are water-saving taps and showerheads noticeably weaker?
- Modern low-flow aerators mix air into the water stream, so the pressure feels similar even though less water flows through. Most people cannot tell the difference in normal use. The exception is rinsing hair — a 6-litre showerhead takes a little longer than a 12-litre one, so it is worth testing before fitting all bathrooms at once.
- Is rainwater harvesting practical in Greece?
- Yes, particularly for garden irrigation and toilet flushing. A simple 500–1,000 litre tank connected to a downpipe can capture enough from autumn and spring rainfall to cover most summer irrigation needs in a domestic garden. Larger systems with a first-flush diverter and basic filtration can supply toilets too. Permits are not generally required for domestic rainwater harvesting in Greece, but check with your municipality before installing a plumbed-in system.