The key to water efficiency is reducing waste, not restricting use. You can help reduce waste by making small changes and by choosing more water efficient products. |
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Toilet flushing |
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Know what type of toilet you have:
If your toilet is pre 2001, consider installing a cistern displacement device (CDD) such as a ‘Save a flush’ bag or a Hippo. These are available for free from most water companies. These devices are easy to install and are placed in the toilet cistern to displace approximately one litre of water every time you flush.
Considering the average household flushes 5000 times per year, savings of up to 5000 litres per year could be achieved just by simply installing a cistern displacement device.
Purchasing a water efficient toilet:
Many toilets today feature a dual flush option to help you save water. These types of toilets have a split flush button giving the user the choice of pressing a small button or a large button depending on how much water is required to clear the toilet bowl. Look for dual flush toilets if you are considering purchasing a new toilet for your home.
Detecting leaks and repairing your toilet:
An easy way to check if your toilet has a slow leak, is to add a few drops of food colouring to your toilet cistern. Don’t flush the toilet for at least one hour. If the food colouring shows up in the toilet bowl after an hour, then you've got a leak. We recommend that you get a licensed plumber to fix any leaks.
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Taps and baths |
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Although less people have baths now than during the last century (showers, rather than not washing, has replaced them) water use from taps and baths is still high. Did you know that a dripping tap can waste 140 litres a week? (source: Thames Water).
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Washing machines |
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Washing machines use about 14 per cent of the water we use at home. New washing machines are much more water and energy efficient than they used to be. A new machine uses about half the water and energy of the average 10-year-old machine. Many of the most efficient washing machines now use less than 50 litres of water per wash.
In order to save the most water and energy always use a full load. Some machines have half-load settings but be careful because these settings often use more than half the water and energy of a full load.
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Showers |
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Reduce water used in the shower
A worrying trend is the growth of power showers. These can easily use more water than a bath. Water use in showers can be reduced very easily without conflicting with your shower experience.
Aerated showerheads reduce the amount of water in the flow, but maintain pressure by mixing air in with the water. Just like a normal showerhead, they produce a steady, even spray.
Low flow showerheads reduce the amount of water that is used, whilst still giving you the full feel of a normal shower.
By replacing your showerhead with a more water efficient model it is possible to reduce your water consumption by more than half, whilst still enjoying a great shower.
Reduce duration of shower:
A shower timer shows how much time you have spent in the shower, and can help you save water. When the sand empties from the top, turn off the flow. If everyone used a shower timer, we would save enough water to supply one million homes every day.
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Washing up |
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There is a misconception that washing up by hand always uses less water than a dishwasher, this is not true anymore.
Hand-washing can be very efficient if you use a bowl and watch how much you use. But daily handwashing typically uses about 63 litres and if dishes are rinsed off under a running tap the total water used can be 150 litres. A modern dishwasher can use as little as 10 litres of water per cycle. But make sure you fill the dishwasher or you’ll be wasting even more than if you were to wash up by hand.
If 50% more people bought a dishwasher we could save enough to supply enough drinking water to a city the size of Leeds. When buying a dishwasher you should try to choose a one that offers several different wash cycle selections and check the water consumption figure at the bottom of the energy rating sticker.
You don’t need to rinse your dishes under the tap before putting them in the dishwasher. New dishwashers are designed to cope with food scraps. Wait until your dishwasher is full of dishes before washing. In most cases running your dishwasher with a full load will use
less water than washing the same number of dishes by hand.
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Outdoors |
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Be sprinkler savvy:
We all love our gardens, but sprinklers can use as much as 1,000 litres of water per hour-that's more than a family of four can use in a whole day. Using your sprinkler early in the morning or late in the evening will mean less water will evaporate from your garden and more will get to the roots, where you actually want it to go.
Use a watering can:
Your hosepipe can spew as much as 18 litres of water a minute. By using a watering can in your garden you can significantly reduce the amount of water wasted.
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