There are so many ways to save water in the kitchen, virtually every appliance and function if used efficiently can be used to help reduce your water consumption.
Money saving tips
Cold drinking water
Running a tap until the water is cold wastes about 4 litres each time. Why not fill a covered jug and put it in the fridge for later use. Do this and you will save 1,460 litres of water which works out at around £4.40 a year = (2.2kg CO₂)
Dripping taps
Dripping taps are literally pouring money down the drain. One slow leak can waste 9,000 litres of water a year. That will cost you around £27 (=13.5kg CO₂)
Washing vegetables
Don’t wash vegetables under a running tap, use a bowl of cold water instead. This saves about 5 litres of water every time and you can then use it on household plants. Do this 5 times a week and you will save 1,300 litres of water. In financial terms this is £3.90 a year (=1.95kg CO₂)
Cleaning crockery and cutlery
Use a sink of water to wash crockery and cutlery rather than leaving the hot tap running. This will save money on your gas bill and about £35 on your water bill. (= 17.5kg CO₂)
Click point taps
Fit ‘Click point’ taps in your kitchen and bathroom sinks, they inhibit the flow rate in stages and save water
Dishwasher
A standard dishwasher programme uses about 10 litres of water. Switch to an eco-setting and save 3 litres. Used once a day this saves 1,100 litres of water = £3.30 (=1.65kg CO₂)
New dishwasher?
Looking to replace your dishwasher? Look for products with the new Water Efficient Product Label and/or the Waterwise Recommended Checkmark, these models use less water and energy.
Run your dishwasher only when full
Run your dishwasher only when full to capacity. At half load it still uses the same amount of water, detergent and energy. One extra cycle a week is 364 litres of water a year = £1.09 (=0.55kg CO₂)
Use less crockery and utensils
Use fewer plates, utensils and dishes to reduce the times you run your dishwasher to save water, detergent and energy.
Washing machine
Looking to replace your washing machine? Look for products with the new Water Efficient Product Label and/or the Waterwise Recommended Checkmark, these models use less water and energy.
Run your washing machine only when full
Run your washing machine only when full to capacity. At half load it still uses the same amount of water, detergent and energy. One extra cycle a week is 1716 litres of water a year = £5.16 (=2.57kg CO₂)
Wash clothes in cold water
Washing clothes in cold water helps retain dark and vibrant colours, reduces colour bleeding and reduces wrinkling – result your clothes last longer and saves you money.
Kettle
Don’t boil more water than needed.
Cooker
Keep the lid on saucepans and reduce the amount of water lost as steam. This means you need less water in the pan and consequently this reduces the energy required to boil or simmer the water. A good win on water and energy saving.
Draining vegetables
Re-use the water from drained vegetables for gravy or soup. Alternatively let it cool and use to water plants around the house or in the garden.
Environmental tips
Carbon footprint of water
The delivery of 1 litre of tap water creates 1.5g of CO₂ whereas 1 litre of bottled water produces around 250g of CO₂ (including production of the bottle), 166 times more than the tap water. If the world consumes 200 billion litres of bottled water per year that’s 80 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, or one sixth of 1% of global emissions. That’s outrageous when the water coming out of your tap is much the same as bottled water. Do not be conned by the marketing campaigns shouting about the health benefits of bottled water, it’s nonsense.