Water Saving Tips

Water saving tips for inside the home

• By replacing one bath a week with a 5 minute shower, each person in the household can save on average £10 on energy bills a year.
• Make sure that your dishwasher and washing machine are full before putting them on and always use the most water and energy efficiency settings. When it is time to replace your appliance, look out for Energy Saving Trust Recommended products.
• Using a bowl to wash up rather than leaving the hot tap running could save around £25 a year on a household’s gas bills if you wash up twice a day. Use cold water where possible and don’t keep the tap running.
• Only boil as much water as you need to avoid unnecessarily heating water you won’t even use!
• A running tap uses around six litres of water a minute so turn off the tap whilst brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your face and use cold water where you don’t need hot.
• A dripping tap wastes over 5,500 litres of water a year so make sure your taps are properly turned off and change washers when the tap starts dripping.
• Where possible try and reuse unused water, for example pour your left over glasses of water on houseplants, and avoid wasting water from running taps whilst waiting for hot water.

Water saving tips for outside the home

• Your roof collects enough rain water to fill 450 water butts every year. Invest in a water butt and use this to water your garden, houseplants and wash your car. Rainwater is better for plants than tap water as it is softer.
• Your hosepipe can use as much water in an hour as a family of four in a day, so get back to basics and swap your hose for a watering can filled with water from your water butt when watering your garden.
• Avoid jet washes and energy wasting auto car washes. Use the water from your water butt to wash your car using a good old bucket and sponge.
• Mulches such as pebbles, gravel and chipped bark require low maintenance and are perfect for keeping moisture in the ground and weeds at bay.