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Tips for Saving Water and Reducing Your Costs

Everyone uses water each day, whether it be at home or work. There are loads of really small changes that you could make which all add up to make a big difference – especially to your pocket and the environment. It is much easier to save water than you think!

Our quick tips shows you how simple it can be and the benefits of doing so:
  • A dripping tap can be annoying but it can also be expensive! A tap dripping once a second will waste 15 litres of water each day. Repair the drip and save around £4.70 per year.
  • Remember to check outside for leaks too small leaks in outside taps, pipes not only waste water but could cause damage to your property.
  • If you spot leak from a pipe that is not on your property, please report it to Connect Saint Helena on 22255. This type of leak may not cost you any money but it costs all of us in losing our precious water resources.
  • Check for hidden leaks using your water meter. Check the reading and then check it again after 2 hours when no water is being used. If the meter reading is not the same, you may have a leak.
  • A leaking toilet can waste around 100 litres per day and you would even notice it was leaking. To check for leaks, put a few drops of food colouring into the cistern and wait 30 minutes. If the colour has appeared in your toilet bowl during that time, you have a leak. Get it fixed and save around £30 per year.

In the Bathroom
  • Rinse your razor in the sink rather than under a running tap. It’s just as effective but uses less water.
  • Turning off the tap whilst brushing your teeth could save a family of 4 16 litres per day. £5 per year.
  • A shower uses approximately 10 litres of water per minute. If a family off 4 each reduce their daily shower time by 1 minute, they save up to 40 litres per day. £12.50 per year.
  • On average, a third of household water consumption gets flushed straight down the loo. If you are installing a new toilet, consider a “low flush” one. This type use 5 or 10 litres per flush instead of the usual 15 -20 litres.
  • Put some pebbles or sand into two 500ml plastic water bottles and screw on the tops tightly. Place the bottles into your toilet cistern. Your toilet will still flush but use around 9 litres less water per flush. A family of 4 could save 150 litres per day or nearly £50 per year.

In the Kitchen
  • Don’t run the tap when washing vegetables. Fill the sink or a bowl instead and save water. A running tap uses around 10 litres per minute.
  • Recycle your washing up water to water your garden.
  • If you are washing dishes by hand, don’t leave the tap running for rinsing. Use a separate bowl of clean water for rinsing.
  • In the summer you can waste a lot of water running a tap waiting for water cool enough to drink. Keep a bottle of water in the fridge so that you have cool water available when you want it. (Ensure that the bottle you use is safe for refilling).
  • Each cycle of a washing machine uses an average of 100 litres of water. Use the washing machine for full loads only. Using the machine half full will waste around 20 litres of water each time.

Outside Your Home
  • Invest in a water butt to capture rain water from your roof. Every time it rains you get free water to use on your garden, for washing the car or for washing outside areas.
  • A leaking overflow can waste up to 80 litres of water in a day – the equivalent of a full bath.
  • Water your garden during the early hours of the morning or into the evening. This is more effective as less water will evaporate.
  • Using a hosepipe to wash your car uses the equivalent of 33 buckets of water. Use a bucket and sponge and save around 28 buckets or 140 litres of water.
  • A garden sprinkler uses around 540 litres per hour. This is the same amount of water as an average family of 4 uses in a whole day.
  • Recycling your bath water to water your lawn and plants will give you plenty of exercise as well as saving money.
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