Droughts at sometime or another affects many parts of the UK. Drought increases the risk of subsidence. Homeowners are urged to keep an eye out for cracks wider than 5mm, which are visible inside and outside. This is often the first sign of subsidence, others signs include slanted windows and doors that will no longer shut properly.
Another knock on effect of drought is water shortage to homes, which can lead to hosepipe bans. Therefore Adrian Flux, household insurance specialists, suggest some top tips for saving water in and around the home in readiness for any restrictions.
Saving water in the bathroom
- Reuse bath and shower water for the garden. Don’t drain the water away after washing, by using a syphon pump you can reuse your bathwater to water plants or store in a water butt for later use.
- Spend less time in the shower. Showers can use up to nine litres of water per minute. A simple waterproof shower timer tells you when you’ve been in the shower for four minutes, which is enough time to wash. As well as saving water, four-minute showers can save a typical household around £300 on water and energy bills per year.
- Use a water saving device in your cistern. Old toilet cisterns can use up to nine litres of water every flush, and even newer models can use seven or eight litres. By using a water saving device, such as a hippo in the cistern, this can easily be reduced by two to three litres per flush.
Saving water in the kitchen
- Only use your dishwasher on a full load. Always make sure you use the dishwasher when it is completely full. Even half load options on dishwashers use more than half the water and energy of a full load.
- Don’t wait for water to run really cold. Invest in a jug with a water filter, which you can fill straight from the tap, without wasting any water. By simply remembering to top it up every time you use it, you will always have a supply of fresh, cool water in the fridge.
- Replace worn tap washers. As well as creating irritating background noise in the house, dripping taps can actually waste up to 15 litres of water a day. Replacing tap washers is an easy, low cost way of saving water. And you can do it yourself, if you feel brave, so there is no need to get a plumber in.
Saving water in the garden
- Mow your lawn less often. Lawn mowing can be a lengthy and laborious task, so it’s great news that it’s actually better for your garden to mow less frequently. This is because if you let your grass grow, it provides shade for the soil and helps retain water. You could also use solid water polymer gels, which expand and hold water when it rains, then slowly release it back into the soil.
- Collect and use rainwater. It is much cheaper and simpler than it sounds. By installing a filtration system for harvesting rainwater, water is diverted from your gutter, filtered and then collected in a water butt. Water is then ready to use on the garden, or for washing your car.