Five Quick And Easy Ways To Cut Down On The Water You Use

The average household in the UK goes through 150 litres of water per person every day. Internationally, the UK is the sixth largest importer of water.

Obviously, there’s nothing you can do about the amount of water you need to drink every day. But there are other daily habits you have that could quite possibly be wasting water needlessly. No, you’re not going to be asked to skip showering, but look at more efficient ways of doing it.

Be Efficient in the Shower

Look, everyone loves to sing in the shower, but try keeping it to your favourite show’s theme song and not “Bohemian Rhapsody.” With a four minute shower, you’re using anywhere from twenty to forty gallons of water. So every unneeded minute you spend in the shower can waste five to ten. Get in, scrub up, get out.

Install Water Saving Shower Heads

That’s not all you can do to save water in the shower. Water saving shower heads are great because they’re cheap, they’ll save water and they’ll save you money on that water bill.

Check for Leaks

This is an easy one. Everyone’s tried to fall asleep at night while their faucet has a runny nose. But there are other leaks you can check for too.

Check your toilet, for example. Add a little food colouring to the toilet tank. Then give it a half hour without flushing and watch to see if the coloured liquid ends up in your toilet bowl. If so, your toilet has a leak and you should fix it immediately. Not to worry, though. Most parts can be found at your hardware store and are very inexpensive.

You might also find leaks other places too. Read your house meter and then wait two-hours without using any water. Was there a change? If so, you have a weak somewhere that’s wasting water and money.

Lastly, check outdoor faucets, hoses and sprinklers. If the connection is leaking, you can usually fix this with nothing more than some electrical tape.

Don’t Wash Your Dishes or Clothes If It’s Not a Full Load

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Unless you’re hurting for dishes or need that exact shirt for tomorrow’s meeting, wait until the machine is full before starting it. Also, pre-rinsing your dishes isn’t recommended by a lot of dishwashing machine soap makers, so there’s extra savings right there.

If you absolutely need to do a partial load of clothes, adjust water levels accordingly. Avoid the permanent press setting as well, as it will use an extra twenty litres for the extra rinse.

Letting the Sink Run

It’s an old habit, but one worth breaking. You might even leave your faucet running so much; you don’t realise when you’re doing it. If you have a double basin sink, fill one side with water when you do your dishes. This way you can re-use the same soapy water. Likewise, when you’re washing vegetables, just fill one of the basins.

These are just some of the many ways you can help cut down on wasteful water use and save yourself some money in the process.

Louisa Jenkins is a keen home improvement blogger. She discusses everything from saving water by using showers to picking the best tiles for your kitchen.