Saving water doesn’t just help you save money, it also helps to protect the environment. And you don’t need to go to extreme lengths to make a difference. So in this blog we will show you our top 10 tips on how to save water!
Why is saving water important?
Water is essential for so many things including drinking, washing, cleaning, clothing production and food production. Many of us take water for granted, with the average UK household using 330 litres of water every day. But did you know that despite water covering 71% of the earths surface, just 1% of this is fresh water that is safe for human consumption. And 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water. This shows just how scarce and precious water is, and why we must do what we can to conserve it. In fact, the CEO of the Environment Agency stated that England may not have enough freshwater to meet demand in 25 years time, due to climate change and population growth.
Climate change is also increasing the frequency of things like droughts, causing water shortages. Water usage also requires energy to deliver the water to your home, especially hot water which requires a lot of energy to be heated. This energy consumption leads to pollution of the environment.
So here are 10 ways that you can save water at home, and protect our planet and resources!
1. Take shorter showers
Many of us are guilty of spending longer than we need to in the shower, daydreaming or having a sing-a-long. Reducing your showering time by just 1 minute saves around 12-15 litres of water! You can set a timer on your phone to make sure you’re not spending too much time in the shower. For many of us, hair washing is what takes up the most time in the shower. So you should try and cut down how often you wash your hair to twice or once per week. This may feel a little gross at first, but over time your hair will get used to it and it will make it healthier in the long run. You can also use dry shampoo if you feel you need it.
2. Install a low flow shower head and toilet
In addition to taking shorter showers, you can purchase a water-saving shower head. This Aqua Air shower head can save up to 50% more water compared to regular shower heads. You can also get low flow toilets which use less water for flushing. If you can’t afford to invest in a new toilet, you can place a plastic bottle or container filled with sand or rocks into your toilet tank to create a DIY low flow toilet.
3. Don’t leave the tap running
It may seem small, but turning off the tap whilst you’re brushing your teeth or shaving adds up to decent water savings over time. You should also turn off the tap whilst you are lathering your hands during handwashing.
4. Always do full loads of washing
Make sure to always do full loads in your washing machine. This will lessen the amount of times you need to do washes (and lessens water usage). You can apply the same practice if you use a dishwasher, only using it when you have a full load.
5. Fix any leaks
Another easy way to save water is to check your pipes and fixtures for any water leaks. It may seem small, but a leaky tap can actually waste 15 litres of water per day!
6. Choose low water use plants
If you are a fan of gardening or like having some plants around the house, you should consider low water use plants. Of course the less you need to water your plants, the more water you save! Low water use plants include things like cactuses and succulents like stonecrop, aloe and agave. You can also collect rainwater using a bucket or a water butt, and use this to water your plants!
7. Invest in water efficient appliances
You can invest in water efficient appliances as another way to save water. A washing machine and dishwashers are two good appliances to invest in to save water. This SAMSUNG ecobubble 8 kg Washing Machine is a good example of an efficient appliance which uses just 36.82 litres per cycle. This is notably less than the average washing machine which uses around 50 litres per cycle. And this SMEG DFD13TP3X Full-size Dishwasher is a great water efficient dishwasher, using just 9 litres per cycle.
8. Wash your car with a bucket and sponge
It isn’t really necessary to use a hose to wash your car, as this wastes a lot of water. Going for an old-fashioned bucket and sponge is a lot more efficient and still gets the job done. If you feel like you need to use a hose, be sure to turn it off whilst you are scrubbing your car.
9. Reduce your meat and dairy consumption
It’s not something that many of us consider, but the production of meat and dairy have a large water footprint, with beef being the worst. Most of the water usage comes from the feed for the animals. In fact, the water footprint of a six ounce steak is 3,064 litres of water, compared to a serving of salad which has a footprint of just 95 litres! So to save water resources, you should try to cut down on your meat consumption. Of course you don’t need to become vegan overnight, even a few meat free days a week make a difference. The same can be said for dairy, as cows milk has a much larger water footprint compared to plant-based milk. Soy milk and oat milk are the best choices with the lowest water footprint.
10. Buy secondhand clothing
Buying clothing second-hand doesn’t just save you money, it also reduces your water footprint. Clothing production uses up a lot of water. In fact, it takes 20,000 litres of water to produce just 1kg of cotton! So buying clothing second-hand is a great way to save water, as you are reducing the demand for new garments to be produced as well as saving clothing from landfill.
We hope that this blog has been helpful and shown you how to save water! Let us know in the comments if you have any water-saving tips that you’d like to share! And you can read our other blog post here on ways to lower your carbon footprint.
Tags: climatechange, ecofriendly, recycle, savewater, sustainability, water