Water saving tips

The average person in the UK uses 150 litres each day. Here's how to reduce that...

• Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth – this can save 6 litres of water per minute.
• Place a cistern displacement device in your toilet cistern to reduce the volume of water used in each flush. You can get one of these from your water provider.
• Take a shorter shower. Showers can use anything between 6 and 45 litres per minute. Consider getting an aerated shower head, which combines water and air, or inserting a regulator in your shower, which puts an upper limit on flow rates.
• Always use full loads in your washing machine and dishwasher – this cuts out unnecessary washes in between.
• Fix a dripping tap - A dripping tap can waste 15 litres of water a day, or 5,500 litres of water a year.
• Install a water butt to your drainpipe and use it to water your plants, clean your car and wash your windows. A water butt can collect around 5,000 litres a year.
• Water your garden with a watering can rather than a hosepipe. A hosepipe can use as much as 1,000 litres of water an hour. Mulching your plants (with bark chippings, heavy compost or straw) and watering in the early morning and late afternoon will reduce evaporation and also save water.
• Fill a jug with tap water and place this in your fridge. This will mean you do not have to leave the cold tap running for the water to run cold before you fill your glass.
• Install a water meter. When you're paying your utility provider for exactly how much water you use, laid out in an itemised bill, there's an incentive to waste less of the stuff.
• Invest in water-efficient goods when you need to replace household products. You can now get water-efficient showerheads, taps, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers and many other water-saving products. For more information visit the Waterwise website.

Even though water doesn't appear in short supply in the UK, using less water actually means you are:

• Reducing energy use. Cleaning waste water (or 'grey water', as it's called) is an energy-intensive process; so is heating the hot water that comes out of your taps.
• Saving money. If you're on a water meter, these tips above could save you a bob or two.