The heat wave is set to continue well into July. A hosepipe ban is already in force in many areas of the UK. Saving water is important during these very dry periods.
Below are a few tips you can do, to save water:
1. Turn Your Tap OFF! – When you are brushing your teeth, turn the tap off between rinsing. Assuming you spend two minutes a day brushing, over the period of one year, that is possibly over 8,000 litres of water used. A tap on high pressure will pass around 6 litres a minute. Only using the tap to rinse could save well over 6 thousand litres of water a year – per person! In a household of 5 this could be 30,000 litres a year saved!
2. Time Your Shower – Recently the media have announced that you should keep your shower to 4 minutes or less. Avoid starting the shower and then doing other wasteful things before getting in (like brushing your teeth – whilst leaving the tap running!). Also time yourself in the shower. To start time yourself, then aim to take 1 minute off a shower session until you reach your shortest possible realistic time.
You maybe amazed how much time and water you can save. A power shower will use around 7 litres of water a minute. An 8 minute shower will use a massive 56 litres! Reducing an 8 minute shower to just 4 minutes will save over 10,000 litres of water a year per person – thats over 50,000 litres a year saved for a household of 5.
3. Shallow Baths – Taking a bath is a notorious waste of water. But by having a bath, which is just 1 inch less in depth, will save around 5 litres of water. If you have a bath 7 times a week this is almost 2,000 litres a year saving.
4. Think What You Flush – Avoid flushing down cotton buds, and makeup tissues. It’s a waste of water, you can easily dispose of such in a bin. Most people do this out of habit, and is a very easy thing to change.
5. Dual Flush Toilets – Modern toilets often have a dual-flush system. This allows you to select between a 4 to 6 litres a flush. A massive saving compared to old style loos which can use 14 litres or more per flush!
According to recent research, it would suggest that there is a varying level of knowledge in the UK around water usage. Below are a few findings:
1. 88% of people said that they take steps to reduce water wastage.
2. When asked “Why don’t they take action to use less water” 37% said they “only use the water they need…”
3. 61% of people use less water to save money, 57% to help the environment and 53% as it just seems like common sense.
4. Awareness of water saving devices correlates with age. 31% of 18-24 year olds have not heard of the most common water saving devices, compared with just 6% of 55 year olds.
Research results from Ideal Standard & Waterwise.
Water is a precious resource. Learning to be aware of this fact will not only save you money, it will also help the environment, and help further focus your thinking towards a more sustainable, environmentally friendly life.
Enjoy the warm weather!
