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Water saving tips
Saving water at home
Saving water in your garden
Useful water saving links
How you can help save water
With low water levels across Kent it is more important than ever that everyone does their bit to use water wisely. By making just a few simple changes, we can all be more water efficient:
Saving water at home
- Vegetables and fruit can washed in a bowl rather than under a running tap and the leftover water can be used for watering house plants
- Use the minimum amount of water required when you boil water in saucepans and kettles. That way, you'll save energy as well as water
- Try keeping a bottle or jug of water in the fridge instead of running taps until the water runs cold
- Half-load programmes on dishwashers and washing machines use more than half the water and energy of a full load. Therefore, wait until you have a full load before switching the machine on
- Try not to leave the tap running while you brush your teeth, shave or wash your hands, as this can waste up to five litres of water per minute
- A five minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath. But remember that power showers can use more water than a bath in less than five minutes
- Fitting a Save-a-flush (a bag of harmless crystals) in your toilet cistern can save up to one litre per flush. That's a saving of nearly 2,000 litres per person per year
- Installing a Hippo (designed to work in toilet cisterns with a nine litre flush or greater) could save up to 5,000 litres per person per year
- Dripping taps can waste up to four litres of water a day. Replace worn tap washers for a quick and cheap way of saving water
- Burst water pipes can cause serious damage as well as waste water. Ensure your water pipes and external taps are lagged in time for the cold winter months
- When buying a new dishwasher, choose one that is energy efficient as this saves water and electricity. Machines with an 'A' rating sign are the most economical.
Saving water in the garden
- Water your garden in the cool of the early morning or evening. This will reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation
- If you water plants and shrubs too often their roots will remain shallow, weakening the plant. Leave them alone until they show signs of wilting
- Collect rainwater in water-butts and use a watering can instead of a hose. If you prefer to use a hosepipe, fit a trigger nozzle to control the flow
- Regularly weed and hoe your garden, to ensure that watering helps plants and not weeds
- Plant flowers and shrubs that thrive in hot and dry conditions such as thyme, evening primrose, rock rose, Californian poppy, pinks, lavender, buddleia and hebes
- Mulches such as wood chips, bark and gravel help to prevent water evaporation and also suppress weed growth, saving you both water and time spent weeding
- Lawns can survive long periods of dry weather if the grass is not cut too short. Even if the grass turns brown, it will quickly recover after a few days of rain
Useful links
See also the saving water in your home pages on the directgov website or the saving water in your garden pages on the directgov website.
09 February 2012
