How to Save Water at Home

In the UK, most of our water usage is consumed indoors. This includes flushing toilets, laundry, dishwashers and kitchens. Here at Coastal Drains, we have written plenty of articles on how to keep your drains cleaned, well-maintained and working well but we have yet to do an article on saving water!

Here at Coastal Drains, we are passionate about drains and we are always available to give you our top-tips in drain maintenance, drain cleaning and even how to save water! In Brighton alone, our sewer system disposes of around 22 million gallons of waste water every day! But in wet and stormy weather (a given in England, unfortunately) that number can rise to 90 million! That’s a whole lot of water.

That’s why we decided to write this article one water efficiency. Water efficiency is all about the way in which we use water. The key is to try and reduce your water usage where possible to reduce your water bill, reduce the impact on your local environment, reduce your energy use and bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by using less energy to pump, heat and treat the water.

Why Does Saving Water Matter?

We all know that saving water is important but why does it matter? Water in the UK is not in limited supply. In fact, the UK has some of the best water in the world so why do we need to reduce our usage?

As we are seeing, the effects of climate change are rapidly changing the face of our planet and it is even more important for us to look at the waste we create and the water we should be saving. Saving water is important because water is an essential resource and wasting it could mean big shortages in the future. Here at Coastal Drains, we believe that we could all easily reduce our water usage by one-third without any drastic changes to our lifestyles. If you would like to find out how to reduce your water usage in the home, read on to find out more.

Bathroom

The bathroom is one of the many rooms in your house where water consumption can sky-rocket. From using the shower or taking a bath to flushing the toilet and running the tap, your bathroom can be one of the places you experience the most water wastage. Here are our recommendations for saving water in your bathroom:

Toilet

Toilets can waste huge amounts of water. It is estimated that a total of 30% of water in the home is used simply by flushing the toilet. But, let’s be honest, you can’t not flush it…So, what is the solution?

We would recommend purchasing a water efficient toilets. Modern toilets now come equipped with a dual flush button which gives the user the choice of how much water to use. They are very simple to install and they can drastically reduce your water usage from the standard 13 litres per flush to 4-6 litres per flush.

Alternatively, you could install a cistern displacement device which can be placed in the cistern to displace around 1 litre of water every time you flush it. These are extremely easy to install and can achieve you savings on your water of up to 5,000 litres per year. These devices are FREE from most water companies, so grab yours today and save yourself some money.

Showers

Showers are huge wasters of water and reducing your water usage in this area could have a massive effect on the size of your water bill. We would recommend installing an aerated shower-head. These water-saving shower-heads reduce the flow of water but do not compromise on pressure. So, if you like having a shower with a lot of pressure – you won’t miss out. By maintaining the pressure, an aerated shower-head mixes air with water to reduce the amount of water used, whilst still giving you the feel of a normal shower.

Another effective way to reduce water waste is by limiting time spent in the shower. Although showering can be a good time to test out your vocal range and sing those famous songs from Phantom of the Opera, it can cause you to spend more time under running water than necessary. To help keep track of time, try using a shower timer, they help to keep your shower times to a minimum, saving you a lot of water and money!

Baths

Baths are a big water waster and typically use around 80 litres every time they are filled. By running your bath just an inch shorter than usual you can save around 5 litres of water. Alternatively, you could stop having baths and replace them with having showers which use significantly less water.

Kitchen

Your kitchen tap can account for a significant amount of water used in the home. If you have a dishwasher, your water usage can rise even more. If you have a dishwasher, we would recommend only switching it on when it is completely full and try to run it at nice to reduce your energy consumption. Adding a tap aerator can also help to reduce flow, similarly to the shower.

Water wastage in the kitchen is increased in the UK due to people running the tap for longer than necessary. Taps vary in flow volume from 2-25 litres per minute so try to reduce the amount of time you run your tap for. Alternatively, use a washing up bowl to wash your dishes in as this can drastically reduce the amount of water you use when filling the sink by around 50%.

Laundry

Now, we all love that clean clothes smell but clothes washing accounts for 15% of water usage in our homes. To reduce this, reduce the temperature of your wash, only wash a full load and put all washes on the ‘Eco’ setting to save energy and conserve water.

Drinking Water

Drinking water and staying hydrated is extremely important for our well-being and is one area where you should definitely not cut back on your usage. However, there are ways you can conserve water sensibly to ensure you stay hydrated without running the tap for too long.

If you like your water cold, don’t spend ages with your hand under the tap waiting for the flow to turn cold. Instead, keep a jug of water stored in your fridge that you can pour a glass from any time you want a cool glass of water.

If you love a good ol’ cuppa, reduce your water usage by only fitting the kettle with the amount of water you actually need for your one cup of tea. This trick along can drastically reduce the amount of energy needed to boil the water and significantly reduce the amount of water you use.

The same goes for cooking. We would always recommend that you steam your vegetables over a small pan of boiling water. Not only does this help your vegetables retain their natural goodness but it uses less water than boiling your vegetables in a saucepan and, once steamed, you can use the excess water to water your plants.

Can Cutting my Water Use Save me Money?

Yes. Cutting your water usage down can help you save money. Simply by being aware of how much water you are using can help reduce your water bill. However, you won’t just save money on your water bill! You will also save a significant amount of money on your energy bill because shorter showers, less water in the kettle and steaming your vegetables are all ways you can use less energy to heat water and, therefore, reduce your energy bill.

Final Words

Here at Coastal Drains, we fully support any attempts to conserve water and help save the environment. We hope the above suggestions have been helpful and have informed you on the best ways to save energy in the home. If there is anything we have missed, or if you have any tips and tricks for saving water, please comment below or get in touch with us today – we would love to hear from you!