Anglian Water | Home | Environment | Using water wisely

For the home and garden

Remember to turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.

A running tap can use up to 15 litres a minute.
By turning off the tap you could save enough water for a nice soak in the bath once a week.

For a change, have a shower instead of a bath.

A standard 5 minute shower uses less water than a bath, but be careful a power shower can use a third more than the average bath.
Think about fitting a water efficient shower head or timer.

Fit a Save-a-flush device to your toilet cistern.

About a third of drinkable water is flushed down the loo. Save a litre with every flush with a Freddie.
If you’re shopping for a new loo choose one with a dual flush.

Wait until you have a full load before using the washing machine.

Washing machines use around 14% of the water used in the home so fill up or use the half-load button. You’ll save water, energy and detergent. The same goes for dishwashers.
Thinking of purchasing a new appliance? See our range of water efficient appliances.

Keep a jug of water in the fridge so you don’t have to run the tap to get a cold drink.

Wash your vegetables in a bowl, not under a running tap.

And when finished why not use the water on your plants.

Always remember to fix any dripping taps.

A dripping tap can lose up to 4 litres of water a day.

Get a water butt for the garden.

And collect around 5,000 litres of rainwater a year to water your plants with rather than a hosepipe.
We’ve got some fantastic water butt offers.

Water plants early morning or late evening, to prevent evaporation when it’s warm.

Don’t forget to check the weather forecast first – it might rain tomorrow.

Use a watering can instead of a sprinkler, it’s more accurate.

Sprinklers use as much in an hour as a family of 4 does in 48hours.

Use a bucket and sponge to wash the car, rather than a hosepipe.

Hosepipes can use up to 1,000 litres per hour.
Why not try a hand pump pressure washer or a trigger gun to reduce any waste.

Check for leaks on the supply pipe to your home on a regular basis.

Cover outside taps and pipe work during the winter to prevent them from freezing and bursting
If you discover an external leak, call us for details of our Watertight Promise scheme, as you may qualify for a free service pipe repair.

Think about fitting water efficient products in your home to save water.

Start saving today, see what water efficienct products are available.

Why not take a DIY audit and find out more on how to use water wisely in your home. Or if you're a keen gardener our tips on designing a water-efficient garden will give you lots of great ideas.

Instead of letting water run down the drain when washing vegetables, we collect it and use it to water our garden

C Hughes, Ipswich

Water saving tips

You can also find water-saving tips and ideas at the Waterwise website

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