Water Saving Tips for Sustainable Living

Saving water has always been a big focus for those wanting to live more sustainably, but in this current climate, it’s becoming even more urgent for us to change our habits. At the time of writing this, we’ve seen multiple heat waves hit the UK and Europe, leading to droughts, wildfires, hosepipe bans and future concerns, especially with the talk of building more AI data centres that will also require tonnes of water to keep them cool. Of course, the obvious answers would be for water companies to invest in repairs, reservoirs and sewage treatments and for no more data centres to be built until we have the infrastructure to support them, but this is the modern world and money matters more than logic most of the time. So, as an individual, what can we do? What changes can we make to ease the strain on our water sources, and how can our steps make a difference? Here are a few water saving tips that will help the environment.

Short Showers

You’ve probably heard this one time and time again, but it is proven that a short, cool shower will save water. Now it is hard to put this into stats as everyone has different shower heads (some are designed to save water), different types of showers (electric/power/standard) and different sized baths but a 5 minute shower should typically use less water than a full bath. By making the switch to water saving heads and even keeping a bucket in there to catch the run off to use on your garden, you can save even more.

Share Bath Water

If you enjoy a bath, make the most of the water by using it for other family members. If everybody chooses to wash in this way you will be saving much more water than say if 4 people had individual showers. Once you are done, you can even fill your watering can with this water and use it on your garden. Reuse and reuse again to save both water and money.

Cistern Water Displacement Bag

Your toilet can use up to 25% of your household water which really does seem crazy, doesn’t it?! To prevent wasting water down the loo, purchase a cistern water displacement bag. This clever product sits inside the cistern, taking up space and therefore reducing the amount of water needed to refill it. This can reduce each flush by around 1 litre!

You could also choose to only flush when you really need to. Remember the saying- if it’s brown, flush it down. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.

Turn the Tap off When Brushing

This is another tip that was drummed into many of us as kids but it is so true, don’t leave a tap running whilst you brush for 2 minutes, you could be wasting up to 4 gallons of water!! Turn that tap off asap!

Install a Water Butt

Installing a water butt or two will take the strain off your hosepipe and allow you to water your garden for absolutely nothing. You could save up to 5000 litres every year.

Use Eco Settings on Appliances

Choosing an eco setting on a dishwasher and avoiding a pre-wash will save water and energy. You can do the same with the washing machine, but another tip would be not to overfill. Most modern machines should already be water efficient and will weigh the load before starting the wash to calculate the appropriate water usage.

Don’t Keep Filling The Kettle

One easy way of saving time, money and water is by boiling a full kettle in the morning, pouring the water into a flask and using this throughout the day for your hot drinks. No waiting for the kettle to boil and no wasted water.

Don’t Pour Water Away

Any water you have in a glass that gets left over, keep. Add it to a jug and once this is full, use it to water your house plants or your garden.

You may not feel as though these actions are overly huge but they will all have a bigger impact over the course of a year. It’s all about the small sustainable steps.