Save water and energy at home

Save water and energy at home.

If you’re motivated to save water, you’re doing the right thing for the community, the environment and the planet.

By working together to use only what we need in our homes, we can all contribute to ensuring a sustainable water supply for everyone.

There are plenty of easy ways to save water without drastically changing your lifestyle. We have compiled a list of top tips to help you save water, and many of them can also reduce your energy bills.

Save water in the kitchen

Use a full dishwasher or washing machine

Avoid using the half-load settings on dishwashers and washing machines. They use more than half the energy and water of a full load. Fill them up.

Run your taps less

Don’t run the tap until the water’s cool – keep a jug of water in the fridge for instantly cold drinks instead. Try adding fruit or mint for some flavour.

Only boil what you need

Only boiling the kettle for exactly what you need is an easy way to save around £50 a year.

Reduce your washes

By reducing the number of weekly washes by two, could save you £46 on water and energy bills.

Get creative in the kitchen

Use a bowl in the sink to wash your fruit, veg and dishes. Plus, you can use the leftover water to give your plants a drink or wash the patio.

Reuse glass and mugs

Use the same glass, mug or cup to drink out of all day to reduce the water you use washing up. But don’t cut down on the amount of water you drink!

Use fewer pots/pans and utensils

Use fewer pots/pans and utensils when cooking. The less you use, the less water needed to wash up.

Left-over ice cubes

If you have left-over drinking water or ice cubes, don’t pour them down the sink, give your plants a drink instead.

Steam your vegetables

Steaming veg not only saves water but retains more nutrients in your food. Leftover water can then be used to feed the plants.

Save water in the bathroom

Consider taking shallower baths

Reducing your baths by just a third can save around £170 a year.

Turn taps off whilst brushing teeth

A tap left running wastes about six litres of water every minute. You could save almost £30 a year on your water bill and a family of four could save over £100.

Shorten your shower

If everyone in a family-of-four shaved two minutes off their daily shower, the household could save almost £280 a year on water and energy costs.

Install water-saving shower heads

Installing a water-saving shower head can cut the amount of water you use by about 30% per shower. Water companies will offer advice and even water efficiency devices to help you save water

Shower to your favourite songs

If you love singing in the shower, why not combine it with our 2 minute shower song challenge? Time yourself in the shower to your favourite songs.

Check for leaks

Bills going up? You may have a leak. Check for damp inside or green patches outside and contact your supplier for what to do next.

Replace worn washers on leaky taps

Fix dripping taps – they can waste enough water in a year to fill a child’s paddling pool every week of the summer.

Save water in the garden

Use rain water to water the garden

Use a water butt to capture and store rain water to water your garden. The average house roof in the UK collects enough rain water in a year to fill about 450 water butts.

Water early or late

Water your garden in the early morning or in the evening to reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation. Focus on watering the soil so the water goes straight to the roots, where it is most needed.

Use mulch

Cover beds and borders with mulch, wood chips or gravel to prevent evaporation and cut the amount of water you need to water your plants.

Trim with care

Lawns can survive longer periods of dry weather if you do not cut them too short. Adjusting the height of your lawnmower blades will help with this.

Get stuck into those weeds

Rooting out weeds from your flowerbeds will help to ensure your plants make the most of the moisture in the soil.