Incredible! Cape Town family uses 49 litres of water for entire household

Cape Town resident, Tanja Spykerman, has surprised many after posting her water reading on Facebook. 

Residents in Cape Town have been limited to using no more than 50 litres of water per person. This limited amount has been a challenge for many, but not for Tanja and her family. 

Surprisingly, the Spykerman family is using less than 50 litres for the entire household. The motivated South African family of four, including three pets, is only using an average of 49 litres per day. 

At first, this may seem impossible but according to Spykerman, "it's not that hard" to limit your water usage. 

Breakfast Show hosts Martin Bester and Tumi Morake spoke to Tanja about their incredible water-saving tips. 

Want to know how they do it?

• The kids shower every second day.
• Shower with 1-1.5 litres of water and then use the same water to flush.
• Rainwater is caught in a municipal-sized bin for additional flushing.
• Use a bin to throw away toilet paper used for wee (which is something that many people around the world, for instance in Cyprus, do all the time).
• Cook more food on the braai, and use paper plates.
• Dishes are washed in very little water, when needed.
• Between washing dishes, wash what’s necessary with a brush bottle connection from crazy store.
• Use the washing machine for only two loads a week, on eco wash.
• The school is helping by letting kids wear sports clothing to school on sports days.
• Catch all water in basins for flushing.
• If it’s yellow, let it mellow… with toilet neutraliser.
• Connect a tank to the gutters, and when rain is assured, pump water out of the tank into the bath… so the tank can fill up again.
• A bath is about 80 litres which lasts about two-and-a-half to three weeks for flushing.

This is truly amazing! It just goes to show that it really can be done. 

Well done, Spykerman family. 

LISTEN: Breakfast Show listeners discuss where water is needed most in Cape Town