It can be easy to forget just how much water you are using throughout the day. This can especially be harder to manage now that we are all in lockdown. As reported by At Home with Water, across Britain around 840 billion litres are used each year and around 2.3 billion is spent on heating water for the shower alone. Reducing the amount of water used will of course reduce cost for yourself, but also reduce the amount of energy it takes to pump the water. This reduces our carbon emissions which will help with climate change. In all, saving water is not only cost effective, but also will impact your life in a positive way for a better future. Check out a few tips to save water and in turn save some money while staying at home.
There are many ways you can reuse water instead of throwing it down the drain. Whenever you boil some vegetables, you can reuse what is left over to water your plants or for watering your garden. Also, instead of dumping your ice cubes into the sink or tossing them on the grass, how about using these to water your garden? Sometimes you may run water in the shower or when washing dishes, waiting for it to be at perfect temperature. Instead of running the water and watching it go down the drain, you can keep a jug near the sink or shower to collect the water you aren’t using at that moment for other tasks around your home.
Now that spring is well underway, you may spend more time tending to your garden. If so, there are a few things you can do in order to save water. If you can, try your best to use a water can to tend to your garden as a hose can use up to 1000 litres of water an hour. Also, you can always refill your water can and put aside to use when you need to. Ensuring that the extra water does not go to waste and can be used at a later time. If you have a bigger garden that would require a hose that we suggest investing in a nozzle to reduce water waste. This is a great tool because you can control just how much water you are using on your garden.
We’ve all been there, belting out tunes in the shower and before you know it, 30 minutes have passed by. The acoustics in the shower may be great, but seeing that you've spent less on water for the month is even better! A good way to make sure you don't spend too much time in the shower is to set a shower timer. Keep it down to a minimum in order to save on the amount of water being used.
After wearing your favourite shirt, you shouldn’t throw it in the wash right away. Though you might want to wear what you like when you want, this is an easy fix to reducing the amount of water you’re using. Try to minimise how often you do your washing as a lot of energy and water are used by the machine. Minimising this to once a week while doing full loads at a time will definitely help.
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A quick and easy fix to minimising water waste is to ensure that when you’re doing chores or tasks around the house that you don’t leave the water running. This includes when washing dishes, but also for tasks like washing your face or brushing your teeth. Only use what you need to.
In order to better understand just how much water you are using be sure to check your water meter. This way you can hold yourself accountable and analyse where you can minimise around your home from month to month. These can be small things like, filling up a jug and storing it in the fridge to drink later instead of constantly running the faucet for drinking water. This is the perfect time to take action and change any water wasting habits you have now that you are at home. It can take a while to completely change whatever routine or habit you have when it comes to water waste, but you can start by changing small habits first. It normally takes on average 2 months for new habits and behaviours to form, so challenge yourself and get started today! For more water saving tips head to Water Wise.