We cannot live without water. We need it for washing, cooking and for life itself … but we also need to stop wasting this precious natural resource for fear of depleting supplies.
Saving water has become an obvious priority for families and as we count the environmental benefits we also count the economical assets. Recent statistics have revealed that as much as 48% of households in England and Wales now have a water meter installed; accounting for more than 10 million homes.
This figure is increasing all the time but surely there is more that can be done?
Redesign your bathroom
While water meters do help families save money and conserve water there are plenty of other things that you can do. The Energy Saving Trust recommends that you take a shower rather than a bath to conserve resources as “a five minute shower can save up to £15 per year on gas bills and £25 a year on your water bill”.
Redesigning your bathroom can therefore have a huge impact on your water consumption and top tips to follow include:
- Take showers rather than baths to conserve water – if you have mobility issues that make normal showering difficult then you can still save water by installing an efficient walk-in shower cubicle from firms such as Premier Bathrooms
- Invest in water-saving showers, taps and other fixtures and replace leaking fixtures as appropriate
- Avoid flushing the toilet when it is unnecessary to do so and invest in toilets with dual-flush controls which allow you to tailor the amount of water used based with each flush of the tank
Be aware of water use in and outside the house
As well as the tips mentioned above, you can also save water in various other parts of your home. After all, it is not only the bathroom where water is used.
Additional tips you can follow are:
- Control your water use with a Hippo Bag or Save a Flush bag – these are displacement devices which control the amount of water used to flush a toilet and are readily available
- Turn taps off when brushing your teeth to avoid unnecessary waste
- Use a dishwasher instead of washing-up by hand – it is generally considered more economical and environmentally-friendly providing you set the dishwasher to the correct setting and do not over- or under-fill it
- Collect rainwater in a water butt outside and use it water your plants during hot weather instead of filling up watering cans at the kitchen tap
Check your tariff
Saving water and energy isn’t just about making changes in your home – it also means investigate the services on offer from your supplier and other water providers.
Have a chat with your water supplier and check that you’re on the correct tariff. If you don’t have a meter then the water board will often estimate your bill based on the number of rooms in your house and this could work out very expensive if you’re a single person living in a three bedroom property!
Installing a meter can make calculations far more accurate so that you only pay for the water you actually use – and this can be a great incentive to help you cut down on consumption and save cash.
Conserve your water use
A recent article in The Daily Telegraph highlighted the fact that the South East of England is classified as an area of “serious water stress […] and households on a meter tend to use 10pc-18pc less water”.
One family found that savings amounted to a considerable £200 per year once they had installed a water meter so you can imagine the benefits if you implement further changes too.
Sources:
http://www.richmond.gov.uk/gogreen/gg_home/gg_water/gg_saving_water_at_home.htm
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Heating-and-hot-water/Saving-money-on-water/Saving-water
This post is generously supported by Premier Bathrooms
Image credit: Shutterstock
Alaisha Smith
Thanks for providing these valuable ideas about how to save water. It’s true that saving water is the first priority of every family. Last week, my home’s tap was not working properly; cause of this water was flowing continually. Then, I called a professional plumber by help of this site http://www.onecallplumbing.com/. They provide me instant service at my doorstep at affordable price.