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Save Water: Top Tips to Be Green and Save Cash

29th May 2019

Regardless of whether you are on a water meter, it is more important than ever to save water in order to reduce energy consumption and, in most cases, save money. Wasted water is money down the drain. You may not be on a meter, but your water rates still pay for the cleaning of water that is already clean. Check out six easy ways that you can save hundreds of gallons of water a year.

1. Switch the tap off! How many people leave the tap running while they brush their teeth? This may seem like a tiny thing, but the three seconds it takes to turn the tap off could save you 6 litres of water PER MINUTE.

2. Save water in your toilet by investing in a water displacement device. This means that you need less water to flush the loo. If you don’t want to spend money, place a brick or a plastic bottle full of water in the cistern. A 500ml bottle will help you to save half a litre every flush, so over 5 litres a day!

3. Fix that tap. You may be used to the dripping tap, after all, it can’t do that much harm, right? WRONG! A dripping tap can lose you as much as 15 litres every single day.

4. Save on cold. Based on a tap flow of 6 litres per minute, we probably waste upwards of 20 litres a day running the cold tap until it is cold enough. Try filling a water jug with cold tap water and store it in the fridge: no more waiting for the water to cool.

5. Get a water butt. The best thing about wet British summers is that there is a plentiful supply of water falling from the sky most days! Install a water butt to collect rain water, which you can use for watering the garden.

6. Shorten your shower. We’re not suggesting that you limit every shower to a couple of minutes, but a shower can use up to 45 litres per minute. Install a water-saving fitting on your shower and try to get into the habits of taking shorter showers. Treat yourself once a week to a long, languorous shower or bath to reward yourself for your new water-saving habits!

Saving water is kind to the environment and kind on your wallet, too. If you would like help or tips on saving water, fixing leaks and drips, or installing water-saving devices, contact a local plumber, who will be happy to help you.

Want more tips? Follow Trust a Trader on Facebook or Twitter.

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How To Save Water in the Bathroom

Are you worried about impending water shortages? Do you want to save money on your water bills? Or do you just want to do your bit for the environment by saving water? Whatever your motivation to reduce your water consumption, there are some simple steps that you can take to reduce the amount of water that you and your family use day in, day out, for the rest of your lives. The best bit? We bet you don’t even notice the difference – other than the drop in your bill! Here, we take a look at simple changes you can make in the bathroom, to help you to save ££s and the planet!Leaking Loos can cost from £50-£200 a year! You are literally flushing your money down the pan. If you hear a constant trickle in your cistern, it means that water is running out of the loo so the cistern constantly needs topping up. A plumber will be able to fix the problem in minutes.You may or may not know this but….. if your loo has two push flush buttons, using the small button produces half a flush. Half a flush equals half the water – so only use the big button if you have to!Standard flush loos can use up a lot of water, but there are ways of reducing the amount of water you use per flush. Just by placing a brick (or two) in the cistern, you could save up to 8 litres of water per person per day. For a standard family of four, that is a whopping 11,680 litres of water a year.Do you get that sinking feeling when you get your water bill? Well, turning off the tap while you brush your teeth could help put that shiny white smile on your face. When you keep the tap on, you are pouring away up to 16 litres of water per minute. Based on our family of four, brushing their teeth twice a day for 2 minutes, that is 46,720 litres a year that you could save!We don’t want to begrudge you your relaxing bath or refreshing shower, but try to be water aware. Depending on the type, showers use about 8 litres of water per minute. Electric showers are the most economical, while those glorious power showers use a lot more. If you need to run the shower before it heats up, rather than wasting the cold water, save it to use in the garden. If you want to slash your water bill, try cutting average shower time by a minute or two. If every member of our water-aware family reduced their daily shower time by just one minute, they would save 11,680 litres of water a year between them.Want to know more? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and keep an eye out for next week’s blog, when we introduce you to water saving tips in the kitchen and beyond.If you have a leak, or your water bills are higher than you think they should be, get in touch with a local plumber who possesses the skills and equipment to identify, and fix, any costly leaks.

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