HOME ADVICE WATER WASTE

As much of the country still swelters in the heat – and shops run out of fans – we’ve all been encouraged to save water. For some, it’s tougher – hose pipes are or will soon be banned. But however hard we try to save water – showers instead of baths or a special brick in the cistern or waiting for full washing machine loads – many waste litres a day often without knowing it.

And for those households where water is metered – around a half – that’s more than pouring water down the drain. It’s also costly – even if it’s only a leaky tap. While rates vary from area to area, just one dripping tap can increase bills 6%.

Direct Line Insurance says one tap drip a second equals 25 litres wasted a day. That’s nearly three standard watering cans or a full size dishwasher requirement.

Leaving the drip can cause further problems in your home from damp if the water does not go straight down the plughole.

The insurer calculates that all our dripping taps add up to 460 million litres a year – enough to fill 184 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Around a third of homes have had to deal with a leak in the past 12 months. And one in four of those – about five million people – have had a problem beyond their DIY skills.

Typically, we ignore drips for 25 days before acting, but 13% leave it for over a month or longer.

The main culprits are kitchen sinks followed by bathroom taps and shower heads. Other leaks include outdoor watering systems. Those not immediately visible – often joints in pipework or leaky radiators are both wasteful and can cause structural problems including rotting floorboards and rising damp.

Some home and landlord insurance companies, including Direct Line, offer emergency plumber call-outs for serious leaks such as burst pipes.

Policies should also help if your home is ruined by pipes breaking unexpectedly.