Taps aff! Let’s stop wasting water

The average person gets through 150 litres of water a day. But the liquid doesn’t just magically appear in our pipes. And with climate change and sustainability becoming an increasing priority, running taps isn’t something we should take for granted – and the least we can do is try not to be wasteful. Here are seven simple ways to waste less water at home ...

Fix dripping taps

Not only is a dripping tap really annoying but, according to the Energy Saving Trust, they account for

5500 litres of water waste a year. So don’t leave leaky taps to drip for ages – tighten them up yourself if you can or get a plumber in to fix them.

Don’t leave the tap running when brushing your teeth

Tend to leave the water running while using your toothbrush every morning and night? That’s around six litres of water per minute being washed down the plughole. This is one of the simplest bad habits to break – just wet your brush, turn off the tap, then turn it back on quickly at the end to rinse. You’ll quickly get used to it.

Use a washing-up bowl

The same principle applies to doing the washing-up. Filling a bowl tends to use considerably less water than washing each item under a running tap. Don’t leave hot water running for ages to ‘heat it up’

You like a nice hot shower ... who can blame you! But we really don’t need to turn the water on a good five or 10 minutes before getting in (if it really does take this long for your water to heat up, isn’t it time to get the boiler checked?). Nobody’s saying you need to stop having baths, or you should be taking cold showers. Just make sure the water you’re running is being used, not mindlessly wasted.

Switch to a low-flow toilet flush Older toilets can use around 13.6 litres of water per flush, while more efficient modern models, or those with low-flow fixtures installed in the plumping, can reduce this to an average six litres per flush – so it’s worth ensuring your loo is operating on low-flow mode.

Gather rain water for gardening

As many gardeners will know, hosepipe bans do happen, but a good solution for trimming water waste in the garden is by investing in a suitable means of collecting rain water. There are a number of solutions out there – search on Google or visit your nearest garden centre for expert advice.

Be mindful of dishwasher/washing machine use

If you really must run a small load through the dishwasher/washing machine, use those eco and half-load settings (your energy bills will thank you, too). Better still, try to get into the habit of being a bit more mindful over how frequently you’re putting on a wash. For instance, you really don’t need a fresh towel with every bath/shower (keep the room well ventilated and hang them up to air), and if you’re in the habit of tossing things into the laundry basket on auto-pilot, consider whether each item could last another wear or two.