Don't be a drip
Posted by Hillary Miller on
Did you know in May it was Water Saving Week? But here at Switch and Ditch we think if something is a good idea we should do it all the time.
We’re very fortunate in the UK that we can simply turn on a tap and get clean water. However, we can be guilty of taking that for granted - I confess I have. It’s so easy to waste water (we use around 145 litres per person per day), but the good news is – it’s also really really easy to save it.
But why?
- Money – saving water saves money. If you take shorter showers you need less hot water therefore less energy is used to heat it.
- Climate change – the water industry in the UK contributes to almost 1% of our carbon emissions. It doesn’t just come out of the tap; it needs collecting, treating and transporting.
And how?
There are so many easy ways to save water, here are a few of the simplest ones:
- Limit your showers to four minutes – try to beat the clock or play your favourite four minute songs a timer. Baths and showers are the biggest uses of water at home – 34%.
- Turn the tap off when your brushing your teeth (with a bamboo brush of course)
- Make sure your washing machine and dish washer are full loads when you run them (saving both water and energy)
- And use the eco-setting if you have one.
- Use a watering can instead of a hose.
- Whilst you’re running the tap waiting for the hot water, save the cold and use it for your plants.
And here are a few longer term ones you might want to consider:
- Convert to a dual flush in the toilet – flushing accounts for 30% of household water. Or get a Cistern Displacement Device – a cheap (sometimes free) and simple device to reduce consumption.
- Fix that dripping tap. It can waste 5,500 litres a year.
- Stop a leaky loo – more common that we realise, hard to notice but easy to fix.
- Make a water butt to collect rain water. The plants will thank you for it.
There are so many ways we can save water but the key message here is – Don’t be a drip.
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Photo by Nithin Pa on Canva