You don’t have to look far to notice how dry the land in the UK is. England had the driest July since 1911, and across England and Wales, we’ve seen the driest start of the year since 1976 – when water rationing was introduced. With a hosepipe ban already in full swing in certain areas of England- and more expected to follow – now is the time to start saving water. This Morning’s consumer expert Alice Beer has shared her top tips – plus the bonus to being water conscious, more money in your pocket.
Alice kicked off the segment by explaining what a hosepipe ban is and why it’s important.
She said: “We have no rain at the moment, and we have to be really careful.
“A hosepipe ban is obvious, you can’t use your hosepipe. A hosepipe in an hour uses as much water as a family of four in a day and a half!
“You can still water your garden, but you’re not allowed to have your sprinkler on.”
The expert added: “Interestingly, we are using twice as much water today, personally as we did 60 years ago. We turn on a tap and out it comes! But, it was precious then, and it should be again today.”
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As for personal water consumption, Alice said: “Most people believe they use less than 20 litres of water a day. The reality is the average person uses 140 litres a day.
“Average family of four, 500 litres every single day – that’s an awful lot.
“There are so many ways we can save water and stop wasting it.
“Dishwashers, that uses 10 litres a time, it’s nine times less than doing the washing up, so using your dishwasher is a good thing, but it’s got to be full, none of these half loads – same with your washing machine, only put it on when it’s absolutely full.”
Presenter Vernon Kay remarked: “Ours has an economy setting, which reduces the time by three quarters and much less water.”
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“Always use the economy settings, and on your washing machine as well,” Alice added.
“Crockery, how many times do you gather up glasses? Everyone has had a different glass, three or four times a day.
“Take your glass, put it in a set place in the house and keep going back to it and using it.”
Children can have a refillable water bottle to use if preferred.
“How many times do you go to the tap for a glass of water, let it run, ‘Oh not quite cold enough, not quite cold enough’. What are we doing? It’s going down the drain!” She exclaimed.
“So put a jug of water, turn the tap on, collect the lukewarm water, it’s drinking water, and put it in the fridge, it will cool down.
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“If you’re washing fruit and veg, catch the water, use it for your plants outside.
“In the bathroom, so about half of all our daily use of water takes place in the bathroom,” Alice said.
One “no-brainer” is turning the tap off when brushing your teeth. Simply wet your toothbrush before brushing, and while brushing for two minutes, keep the tap off. Only turn the tap back on once you’ve spat the toothpaste out to wash it down the drain.
Alice also revealed: “A shower, 10 litres every minute. You stand in there for 10 minutes, you’re using 100 litres of water.
“Showers are better than baths, but a family of four, if they are on metred-water and if they reduced their shower time, each of them, by one minute, they’d save £45 a year.
“A bath is about 150 litres,” Alice explained. “You could go Wim Hof – if you go Wim Hof, really good short, sharp cold showers – fantastic for your immune system, circulation, you’ll come out invigorated.
“Or get yourself an aerated showerhead, really good, from £30 and mixes air in with the water.
“Don’t forget, little flush!” The expert added. “If you’ve got one of those dual flush buttons on your toilet, (small and a large flush), use the little flush every time. It saves two litres every flush.”
Alice also advised against cleaning your car: “Celebrate it being dirty, or use a bucket.
“If you’re washing your dog, do it on the grass, so the grass can absorb all the water if you’re hosing them down.
“And use a water butt if you can, let’s collect every drop,” she said.
