Reduce Water Consumption 

Water Saving Tips - Home

• When cleaning your teeth - Turn the tap off.
• Wash vegetables in a bowl/dish rather than under a running tap.
• Enjoy a cool jug of water by keeping a jug of water in the fridge so you do not have to run the tap until it goes cold.
• Don't overfill the kettle when making a cup of tea. Only fill and boil what you need, this will save energy and water costs.
• Fit aerator nozzles to taps, these reduce flow without compromising use.
• If your toilet is older than 2001 try fitting a "hippo" or other displacement device.
• When buying a new toilet consider a dual flush model, these use about four litres on the lower flush and six on the full flush
• Do not use your toilet to flush away cotton wool buds etc; put them in the bin.
• Fix dripping taps, you can waste 90 litres a week which will cost more than the price of a new washer.
• A shower use’s less water than a bath. Taking a short shower rather than a bath could save you up to 400 litres a week. Ideally you should use a normal shower rather than a power shower and only spend about five minutes in there.
• Check the temperature of the bath water as you fill the bath rather than putting hot water in first. This will save you having to fill the bath with cold water to achieve the right temperature. It will also save on energy used to heat the water.
• Always run the washing machine with a full load so that you do fewer cycles per week. Try using green washing alternatives Ecoballs are an environmentally friendly natural alternative to conventional washing powders that pollute water supplies, and you can remove the final rinse from your machine cycle, helping to save water.
• Always run the Dishwasher on a full load, do not rinse the plates under a tap first - dishwashers are designed to deal with dirty plates.
• After washing up by hand, you can throw the dirty water on the garden; let boiled water cool down this can also be used on the garden.A small amount of mild detergent will not harm your garden.
• When buying new appliances, try to go for those with the best water efficiency rating. White goods are marked on a sliding scale with "A" being the most efficient and "G" being the least.

 Water Saving Tips - Garden

• Consider using a watering can rather than a hose, water more accurately using a can.  If you use a hose make sure it has a trigger nozzle so you can't leave it running unattended. If you water more thoroughly and less frequently, the roots of your plants will be encouraged to extend deeper and become hardier.
• Consider using bio-degradeable gel crystals in your planters. They can reduce the need for watering during peak temperatures to just once or twice a week.
• Instead of using a sprinkler, leave your lawn to grow a little longer in summer as that helps the lawn conserve its own moisture.
• The lawn only needs watering once a week, it is better to water in the early morning or in the evening when the temperatures are low to minimise evaporation.Too much watering encourages shallow root growth and makes it less able to resist droughts.
• Install a water butt to gather rainwater, the water can then be used to water plants or wash cars. Water butts can help to save around 5-10% of your total water use.
• Reduce water evaporation and produce shade for fish in ponds by covering ½ of the water surface with floating plants.