Reducing how much water we use is increasingly important. Fresh water is vital for survival and it’s becoming harder to come by with the effects of climate change; Extreme weather conditions often cause droughts in the summer. I recently received my water bill and was pretty disgusted at just how much water I use. The last bill shows that I used, on average, 126 litres a day! In the UK the average person uses 140 litres of water a day. Fortunately there are easy ways to save water at home, which will save you money as well as be good for the planet.
The ‘smallest room in the house’ is where the majority of water is used so reducing the amount of water you use in the bathroom will go a long way to reduce your overall water consumption. But there are lots of ways to save water in the kitchen and garden too.
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Reducing your household water consumption
1. Turn off the tap
When you’re brushing your teeth the tap doesn’t need to be on the whole time. Same goes for when you’re washing your face or your hands. Only turn the tap on when you need to rinse.
2. Take fewer baths
It’s an obvious one, but baths use far more water than an average length shower. If a bath helps to soothe sore muscles, maybe don’t fill it right to the top.
3. Take shorter showers
The average shower takes around 9 minutes so just spend 2 minutes less time in the shower to dramatically reduce the amount of water your household uses. (Get a shower timer fitted to help).
4. Say no to a power shower
They’re so nice but they use way more water than is actually necessary to be clean. Find yourself a water saving shower head to reduce the amount of water used without losing water pressure.
5. Take fewer showers
As well as taking shorter showers and having fewer baths you could also stop having a daily, or twice daily, shower. You can easily freshen up by filling a sink with warm water and using a flannel to clean yourself.
| “The energy used to treat, distribute and use water in the United States results in equivalent CO2 emissions to 53 million cars and equates to about 5 percent of (the) annual emissions (for the USA).“ – BPC Green Builders |
6. If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down
Not for everyone but it isn’t entirely necessary to flush every time you’ve had a pee. But… be nice to anyone you share the house with and always flush after a number 2! This tip is much easier if you don’t share your bathroom with anyone else.
7. Add a dual flush
If the thought of not flushing repulses you then get a dual flush where you get the option of using less water if a full flush is not needed.
8. Use a brick in the cistern?
In the past people used to put a brick in the toilet cistern to reduce the amount of water needed to fill it. However, bricks will erode and could cause damage to your toilet so maybe fill an old plastic water bottle with water and use that instead. (At least you’re repurposing a plastic bottle while saving water!)
9. Fix any toilet leaks
In the last rented accommodation I lived in I suddenly had water leaking through my lounge ceiling. It turns out that the pipe connected to my toilet was leaking (thankfully it was the in pipe and not the out pipe!).
10. Fix your leaky taps
Check all the taps in your home for leaks. Not only is the constant dripping annoying but you’re wasting water as well.
11. Install water saving taps
If your taps are leaking anyway, why not install water saving taps instead of just fixing the leaky ones. These water saving taps reduce the flow of the water.
12. Take a bucket in the shower with you
This is actually a really good way of saving and using water that would otherwise just go down the drain. When you’re waiting for the shower to be hot enough you can collect the colder water in the bucket. The water you collect in the bucket can be used to water the garden, or you can use it instead of flushing the toilet. You can also keep the bucket there while you shower but if you’re using the water for your garden make sure you’re not using any bathroom products that could harm your plants.
13. Fill garden watering cans while waiting for hot water to do your dishes
A similar tip to the one above but this time for those of us that wash dishes by hand. In my house it takes a while for the water to be hot enough to wash the dishes, so I collect the cold water in watering cans so that I can water the garden and not waste all that perfectly good treated water.
14. Use Washing up bowls
Many households in the UK still use washing up bowls. Although this is seen as very odd by people from other countries it seems like a good idea for everyone to start using them again. Using a washing up bowl just means that you use less water to do your washing up.
15. Fill your dishwasher
If you use a dishwasher make sure you only use it when it’s full. Also check out the instructions that come with it to ensure you’re using it in the most efficient way.
Which is better for the environment, a dishwasher or washing up by hand?If you live alone and don’t use loads of dishes then a dishwasher is probably not required anyway, but for larger families a dishwasher can save water and energy. It’ll only save water and energy if you: Make sure food is scraped off the plates before loading the dishwasher. |
16. Buy an efficient dishwasher
Shop around and find the most energy and water efficient dishwasher you can find. If you already own a dishwasher it’s probably not the most eco-friendly thing to do to replace it, however it’s something to consider when your dishwasher is beyond repair.
17. Use a shorter wash cycle for your laundry
Using a shorter wash cycle uses less water and less energy. Win win!
18. Wash a full load of laundry
As well as using a shorter wash cycle make sure you wash a full load. If you’re washing just a couple of items each wash you’re throwing money and water down the drain.
19. Buy an efficient washing machine
Look for the most energy and water efficient washing machine when you need to replace the one you already have. Over time it will save you money, even if it costs more initially.
20. Collect rainwater
As well as collecting water from your shower and kitchen sink to water your plants you can also collect rainwater. Why use fresh water from the taps when there’s readily available water from the sky? Look into getting a water butt for your garden, or you could even collect rainwater in buckets.
21. Water plants in the morning
If you water your plants at the end of the day you’re more likely to lose some of that water to evaporation as it’s warmer than at the beginning of the day. Watering plants while the sun is still out can cause you to scorch your plants as well as waste water.
22. Avoid using a hose to water plants
When you use a hose to water your garden it can be easy to use far more water than you realise. Use the household and rainwater you’ve collected in watering cans or buckets.
23. Wash your car with a bucket and sponge
It’s really not necessary to use a hosepipe when washing your car but if you feel that you’re just not cleaning the car well enough at home find a local car wash that recycles the water.
24. Reusing Water used for cooking
If you boiled some vegetables and didn’t use the water for anything else then just wait for it to cool down and you could use that to water the garden too.
25. Wash your fruit and vegetables in a bowl
It’s common for people to rinse their fruit and vegetables under running water, use a bowl and you’ll save water.
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If you’re on a water meter then using some of these water saving techniques could seriously lower your next water bill. Not only that but less energy is required to treat the water so it’s much better for the planet as a whole.
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