Cape Town learned the hard way that every litre counts. Summer brings dry weather and high demand, so it's worth building water-wise habits into your cleaning routine now. Most of these save time and money too.
1. Use a bucket, not a running tap or hosepipe
A running tap uses many litres a minute. Filling a bucket with exactly what you need, and dipping your cloth or mop into it, uses a fraction of that. Rinse in a second bucket rather than under the tap.
2. Microfibre does more with less
Microfibre cloths pick up dust and grime with just a little moisture, so you need far less rinse water than with old rags. Many jobs, like wiping desks, mirrors and dusting, can be done with a barely damp cloth.
3. Spray, don't soak
Decant diluted cleaner into a spray bottle and mist it onto the cloth or surface. You'll use less product and less water, and leave less residue to rinse off.
4. Waterless car washing
A typical hosepipe car wash can use well over a hundred litres. A waterless wash and wax spray, used panel by panel with clean microfibre cloths, cleans light to moderate dirt with no hose at all. For heavy mud, a bucket wash is still far better than a hosepipe.
5. Sweep before you mop
Sweeping or vacuuming first means your mop water stays cleaner for longer and you change it less often. Mop with a well-wrung mop, not a soaking one. Floors dry faster and are safer too.
6. Reuse where it's safe
- Use the water from rinsing vegetables to water plants.
- Use grey water from laundry rinse cycles for flushing toilets or washing paving, where your plumbing allows it.
- Don't reuse water that contains strong chemicals or bleach on gardens.
7. Fix leaks quickly
A dripping tap or running toilet wastes water around the clock. Cleaners are often the first to notice, so make it easy for staff to report leaks.
Stock up
Waterless Wash and Wax, Microfibre Cloths and Mr Max Multi-Surface Cleaner are all available from maxproducts.co.za.
Products mentioned in this guide
Available now from our sister company Max Products at maxproducts.co.za, in trade sizes and delivered in Cape Town.
Waterless Wash and WaxShop now →
Microfibre Cloths 10 PackShop now →
Mr Max Multi-Surface CleanerShop now →
