Did you know?

New dishwashers can be more efficient than washing by hand in a bowl. Some use less than 12 litres per cycle!

Top tips

• Use a washing up bowl and turn the tap off to save up to nine litres of water a minute.
• Regularly clean your taps and use a mild disinfectant. This prevents the build-up of limescale which could provide a base for bacteria to grow on.
• Scrape plates into a food waste bin instead of rinsing them under a running tap – it will save water and help to avoid sewer blockages too.
• Wait for a full load before starting your dishwasher.

Did you know?

A standard washing machine uses around 50 litres per wash or 70 litres for older models. The instruction manual will explain how different wash programmes affect the amount of water and energy used.

Top tips

• Make sure you always do full loads.
• Use an eco setting or wash at 30 degrees to save money on your energy bill.
• If buying a new washing machine look out for water efficient models which use up to 12 litres less per wash than standard new ones.

Top tips 

• Fill the kettle with only what you need to save water and energy.
• Fill a jug or a re-useable bottle with water and keep it in the fridge to use in cool summer drinks.
• Drink eight glasses of water a day to feel good. 
• Swap sugary drinks for tap water with slices of fruit in it, to protect your teeth from decay.
• Remember, tap water is fresher and cheaper – it costs up to 300 times less than bottled water.

Top tips

• Try washing vegetables in a bowl and re-use the water for garden watering.
• Cooking water from boiling or steaming food can be used to make soup, stock or gravy and is a great way to ensure you consume all the nutrients.
• Keep raw meat away from taps – the Food Standards Agency and NHS advise against washing raw chicken.
• Leave fat, oil and grease to cool before scraping the solid fat into your food waste bin for recycling or putting it in the fridge for later use. Or pour them into a non-recyclable container and put it in with the household waste.

Did you know?

An average mixer or electric shower typically use around 10 litres of water a minute, but power showers may use up to 20 litres of water a minute.

Typically showering makes up 22% of daily water use in the home.

Top tips

• Try the four minute shower challenge or try to take a minute less than usual by not washing your hair or shaving every day. Each minute less could save you 10 litres of water.
• Fit a water efficient shower head or flow regulator which restricts the flow to eight litres a minute*. This will save money on energy costs too.

* most water efficient shower heads are not suitable for electric showers.

Did you know?

It takes 80 litres to fill an average bath two thirds full for a relaxing soak.

Top tips

• Lower the level of your normal bath by a couple of centimetres to save around five litres – you will save money on energy costs too. 
• Replace one of your weekly baths with a short shower – it could save around 40 litres of water.

Did you know?

About 22% of household water is used for flushing the toilet and 67% of single flush toilets use more than six litres per flush – and sometimes as much as 13 litres! However dual flush toilets use just four to six litres.

Top tips

• Order a free save a flush for your single flush toilet cistern and save one litre of water per flush*.
• Consider flushing the toilet only when you need to. Each saved flush could save around six litres.
• Know which dual flush button is for the large volume and which is the small – it’s not always easy to tell.

*not suitable for dual flush or small toilet cisterns.

Did you know?

A running tap can use nine litres of water a minute.

Top tips

• Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth, washing or shaving – this could save up to 18 litres of water every time.
• Collect water from taps as they run to hot and use it for plant watering or even flushing the toilet.