Hello Dear Reader,
Our water bills are iniquitously expensive. Un-metered water for my house costs £1400 a year. The rising costs of energy and water means that a deep hot bath is a distant memory. I can neither afford the water or the gas to heat it. The boiler is off and we’ve thrown away the bath plug so we don’t even think of a bath. Since moving to our current home five years ago, our energy bills have doubled and our salaries have reduced, mine by choice and Dearly Beloved by having his salary reduced by 10%. It’s not unusual for families with two working people in the UK to have to count every penny due to the rising cost of living. I have though reduced my water bill to under £400 a year.
Here are all the things I do to save water:
1. Keep a bowl in the sink and use the hand washing water to flush the loo.
2. Shower standing in a stacker box or baby bath and use the water to flush the loo.
3. Use floor washing water to flush the loo.
4. Use a bucket and soapy water to scrub the steps and patio instead of a hose pipe.
5. I make sure clothes are actually dirty before I wash them - I only use a short wash programme.
6.I don’t use our hot water system - there’s no running the tap to wait for hot water - there’s no hot water!
7. I only boil one cup of water at a time - saves electricity too.
8. We wash the car with two buckets of water, one to wash, one to rinse.
9. I get my hair wet in one bowl of water in the sink, with the hot water from my kettle, wash it and then rinse it in the shower.
10. We use a shower timer and have four minutes.
11. I only use my dishwasher once a day or less to only use it when it’s full.
12. I scrape the plates and dishes so they only need the minimum wash time.
I don’t consider any of this to be a hardship, instead, I just see this as the way it is. There’s no point in complaining or feeling resentful that in some areas of the UK, water is part of council tax or in certain areas you can fill a Olympic swimming pool for forty quid. I have no choice but to be shafted sideways by the local water company (South West ‘eckin’ Water) but I will do all I can to give them as little money as possible!!
Here are a multitude of ways you can save water and money.
I hope you found this useful. Over to you Dear Reader, any one else saving water to save money. How many cubic meters of water do you use a quarter or a year? We use 200 litres of water a day and I wonder if we could cut it back further?
Until tomorrow, Love Froogs
Our Home, our planet paid me to place the infographic, but I can assure you that saving water will save money and it’s a valuable global resource and we shouldn’t waste it. I will use the money to help pay for my utilities.
I think the water usage of 500 litres per person per day in Australia may be a little outdated since the drought conditions which affected much of eastern Australian (most populated area) over the last 10 years.
I know that Brisbane City Council set a 'target' of 140 litres pp per day and many of us used les than that. I am sure that there are those who still waste water, however, the drought certainly increased awareness of the need to conserve water. After all, we do live in the driest continent on earth.
LikeLike
We have a water metter and that helps us keep an eye on usage, We have a mantra in our house, if its yellow let it mellow and if its borwn flush it down! We also have water butts for the plants as I have a lot of them.
LikeLike
I am frugal with water, but ours is paid for in the council tax, so using less does not benefit us financially at all.
LikeLike
We have a meter, as we did in France, so I'm used to finding ways of reducing use. It's surprising how even leaving a tap running can use far too much water.
We have four water butts in the garden and only use them for our plants, that is when it is actually dry enough to make it necessary!
Cornish water is far far`more expensive than French water, sadly.
LikeLike
We are the same as Paul above (our neighbours think that it is unhygienic). We have no shower but bath share 3 times a week + wash our hair in it when we can. We had a water meter fitted in June and reckon, if the new 4 month bill is anything to go by (and a summer drought notwithstanding), we will save £250-£300 per year.
LikeLike
I don't have any suggestions to add but the ideas you have shared have certainly made me think. Thanks FQ
X X X
LikeLike
gosh froogs. thats very expensive!we are on a meter and thought it would be more expensive!we pay around £70 per quarter for water and £130 per year to get our septic tank emptied..we are frugal wth water as well but i think your bill is very high!what a rip off..!
LikeLike
Good on you Froogs!
I wish everyone would be more mindful of water and power saving. I see clowns over here leaving their sprinklers on, on the roadside grass verge outside their house, not long after a rain dump. Drives me crazy. Grrr!
In terms of power wastage: Christmas decorations are another irritation of mine - wasting power like crazy! I'm not a scrooge, but flashing lights for the months of december and sometimes longer.. bah humbug to that!
LikeLike
One of my thoughts when running a tap is if I had to draw water from a well then transport it to the house then heat it would I be quite so free and easy with it?
When I was growing up we only had a bath once a week - if we needed it or not ha ha ha, and the water was shared or reused. I have to say although my bathing frequency has increased my husband and I always share the bath water - not at the same time I might add!
I use a bowl in my sink in the bathroom so hand washing water 'flushes' the loo
LikeLike
Please may I just add that your home is always enviously clean and fresh, as are you and DB. FM xx
LikeLike
I was really surprised by the last diagram saying that using a dishwasher saves water. I have always hand washed and thought dishwashers were a waste of water and electricity. So I did some searching on the internet and found that most of the data about dishwashers came from a study that I think is flawed. It says that hand washing a twelve place setting uses 27 gallons of water as opposed to a dishwasher using between 4 and 6 gallons. I can't believe anyone would use 27 gallons of water to wash 12 place settings. I decided to measure my washing up bowl and it holds 18 pints of water.
We are a family of 5 and I only ever use one bowl of water to wash all our plates and cutlery, cups and the pans and cooking dishes. So I would probably use 2 bowls of water to wash 12 place settings which is slightly over 4 gallons of water. A long way from the 27 gallons. Maybe they was washing them in the bath instead of the kitchen sink. Anyway, thank you very much for peaking my interest and now I know a little bit more about our water usage.
LikeLike
Do you take a completely cold water shower? Some great ideas- going to find a bucket now! Angela
LikeLike
Morning Froogs 🙂
We have our own well,so even though we don't have to pay for any water rates (when they are eventually reintroduced into Ireland) we do however pay for the electricity that powers the pump each & every time we turn the tap/dishwasher/washing machine/shower on.
I know people (exceptionally healthy people, truth be told) Whose water supply is found at the end of a barrel. Attached to the downpipe, at 2 corners of their home the have the old fashioned milk churns that collect all the rain water that they need. One of these churns is positioned right outside the back door…so fancy a cuppa tea? Off they go with a plastic jug, and fill the kettle straight from the churn.
Now, I know there exists water butts out there, with the mesh, and tap, and 'coneverters' on top, for about €60. Not the family I know though! Oh, they don't give a jot about leaves, or acid rain, or rats even!
They have the nicest clearest skin you have ever seen! they are fine & healthy, never sick! They use a twintub washing machine for the clothes.
If someone really wanted to save on the water, then water butts (or any old barrell, wheelie bin even!) would collect enough water for 9/10ths of what we need.
jennie xx
LikeLike
https://www.yorkshirewater-savewatersavemoney.co.uk/freepack
We got the pack as above - most of the water companies offer one like it for free.
We're on a meter, we used 102 cubic metres last year which equates to just over £300, and I think is about 279 litres a day for all 4 of us. I don't think we would bother with all the grey water recycling you do - with 2 small children it would be impractical. I'm surprised there's not more of a difference in water useage though. We're careful, but not as frugal as you. We do a lot of washing, but the machine is always full and is an efficient model. We don't use a hosepipe. The car gets washed a couple of times a year, if that! We fill the dishwasher every day. We rarely have baths, but we all shower every day (too much running and cycling not to!). Apart from the bathroom taps, everything is water saving. It doesn't feel like we cut back on anything really, just live sensibly…which makes me think water meters should be mandatory - maybe everyone would pause for thought a little more before using water if they were?
LikeLike
It has always been a way of life for me to use the tubs in the kitchen sink,as it is with many of the practices you use.I guess when you grow up with little, sometimes it is hard to change from the old ways of your youth,even when you can afford to to do.Being frugal simply becomes a way of life, but I have no regrets.
LikeLike
What an interesting post! Water is a big issue here in my bit of France at the mo - the main road through the village is being dug up for each house to receive mains water, and sewage out, on each house boundary. It is going to cost over half a million euros. We all think it's a big waste of money in these difficult times - most of my neighbours have done very nicely thank you with their wells and fosse septiques, and apparently have no intention on connecting up to the new system.
LikeLike
Our water rates are reasonable, but we still try to be careful. I don't use my dishwasher, we don't run the water while brushing teeth, shower together (it's a big shower). It's electricity that we have to be careful with as our house is all electric.
LikeLike
I made sure that i was not losing water out of the toilet. Put some red food coloring into the tank,leave it for a couple of hours and check whether it is seeping into the bowl, you can lose thousands of gallons of water a year that way.
Also low flush toilets are a good investment. All new toilets here in the U.s. can only use 1.6 gallons per flush.
I think that 200 litres per day is on the high side especially if there are only the two of you and you are out at work during the day.
LikeLike
We are already doing most of what you do but here are a few of my money/water savers: 3 x water butts in the garden for topping up the pond, watering the veggies and flowers, cleaning the patio and car, no baths only showers which are less than 4 minutes long, only taken 3 times a week and water caught in buckets for flushing the loo! Reduced the amount of times I now wash my hair to once a week. Only wash clothes if they are dirty - use the sniff test. Get a water meter, you can save loads of money if you are careful. Only use the wm and dw when full. If I wash up crockery and the water is reasonable (not greasy) then I wash the floor with the left overs and then chuck this down the outside drain with some jeyes after cleaning the wheeli bin out first. Also use cleanish washing up water to water the garden with, been doing it for years and no ill effects yet! (think the washing up liquid keeps the affids at bay). Only boil the amount of water I need. Use the loo before I leave work and top up my water bottle at work as I walk to and from work. Am sure there are loads more but you just do it and stop thinking about it, it becomes second nature.
LikeLike
Hi Froogs, thank you for commenting on my blog but it isn't my blog (pixie, cloud illusions)! Some idiot unknown to me has pinched my old address. I have reported it just in case it is an attempt at an impersonation, but unless they write anything, there is not much I can do. Regardless, I am not there. But you can find me here:
http://nice-aninstant.blogspot.co.uk/
Much love xx
LikeLike
I'm on a meter and I also do a lot of what you suggest Froogs. I use the floor washing water to flush the loo and use the washing machine (which I plumbed in all by myself and I'm very proud of it!) about once a week, although if the cats have a barfing session immediate laundering is necessary 😦
I wash my hair under the tap with a bowl in the sink and that's used to flush the loo as well. In the summer the bath water is used to water the plants. My last bill was £111 for 6 months but I'm hoping for a lower one next time as I have really pulled out all the stops.
It's coming up to the time of year for something I see as a real waste of money - fireworks! You might as well just go outside and set fire to a £20 note (I have no idea how many fireworks £20 buys!). All round me there are always home firework displays lasting sometimes up to an hour and I just wonder at people having so much money to burn plus I can watch their displays not having spent a penny!! Go watch the local council display and save money!!
LikeLike
Great post, Froogs! I currently pay £324 pa for my water, which is for my two adolescent sons and I. I've recently started to use a bowl in the sink to have a wash and no longer have a shower every day. The water from the bowl flushes the toilet and we too use the, 'if it's yellow' mantra.
I presoak most of my washing in a weak solution of soap flakes and soda crystals. Left to soak over night and then put on a rinse cycle with vinegar as a rinse aid, ( I use the stuff from ASDA at 17p per bottle), all our clothes come out soft and last longer too. If I have the time I rinse the smaller items in cold water by hand and spin them in my little spin dryer., virtually electricity free washing.
I am hoping to reduce my water bills for next year, now, if I could only persuade my OOD not to take 10 minute showers, I'd be laughing
LikeLike
Our water is very expensive, but we have a huge yard and the majority of our expense is irrigation. We have terrible health care here but great public services, sewer, water, electric,gas. it is just a right to have these things we also have good roads and highways just no medical!
LikeLike
We use 292 litres a day for a household of two adults and two children. My husband and I are both at home all day so I am fairly happy with that. We were put on a meter at the beginning of the year, which I really worried about as I was convinced our bills would go up. Much to my surprise they actually went down! I wish I'd changed over years ago.
LikeLike
We are very fortunate to have 3 rainwater tanks total capacity around 62000 litres. Cost a bit initially to set up but we factored the cost in when building our house. House is plumbed in to tanks but toilets are flushed using mains water. I am careful with our water use except we are very indulgent with our long showers. Cheers Judy xx
LikeLike
I am a stay at home mum, I do find that using the dishwasher so handy, in a matter of moments I can have all the worktops, cleared down after dinner. But with the long cold evenings, I always have a fire going. We have a back boiler, heating all the rads & gallons of piping hot water.
So there are evenings when I really fancy doing all the washup by hand, and giving my dishwasher a break! with so much hot water it sees a waste NOT to make use of it and let everyone have a bath. I can fill the bath twice before the tank starts to go cold again.
I think (for me anyhow) it's the price of the electricity that would really worry me, more so, then the cost of the water. If given the choice of turning on the electric shower, or availing of the hot water already in the tank, for a bubble bath….the bath would win out, every time.
I think handwashing the dishes, would be cheaper on every level (for me) then using the dishwasher.
LikeLike
A while back we had house guests who very kindly offered to help with the cleaning up after dinner. They live where their water is not metered, and it was very obvious. They were letting the water run and run. I finally said something, thinking they didn't realize how much running the water while cleaning up would cost. I turned off the tap and gently moved them out while I took over with a big smile on my face and made sure the conversation moved on to other topics. I don't think they knew what hit them. And I just cringed while I heard the shower running and running every night. They are such nice friends, but their nine day stay was a long, long time! It would have been much easier had we set down rules when they walked in the door. They also might not have stayed nine days.
LikeLike
I'm on tank water and have been for all my life,the only time we have a shower longer than 3 minutes is in winter (wet season) during summer I attach a hose to the outlet pipe of my washing machine and fill a plastic 44 gal drum. DH attached a tap for easy access, and I use the the rinse water from the last load to refill for the next washing load and the first cycle is used to flush the loo.
LikeLike
We are lucky as we have our own well, and are not connected to town services. We have a septic tank for our waste, which shouldn't have to be pumped out for at least five years at a cost of around $300.
The only down side of the well, is that when the hydro/electricity is down it won't pump the water out of the well.
Gill in Canada
LikeLike
Hi Froogs.
Gosh I'd like to meet the Australians who are using 500L of water per day! Greedy buggers! This post inspired me to get my own water bill out and check I wasn't one of them and to my relief I'm not. Our household uses approx 200L per day with the exception of the last quarter which was higher for some reason; 261 L costs $223.90 where we are. I'm inspired to get the bucket out and get it lower than that. Thanks for the ideas
Jo 🙂
LikeLike
We live on rainwater tanks only, when they are empty, we have to pay to fill them, so we are very careful, as you never know when it will next rain. All our bath and washing machine water goes on the garden. We only flush when we really need to. Only wash clothes, sheets and towels when they are really dirty. Only wash the dishes once a day with half-full sink. Hardly ever wash the car (and yes, two buckets does the job when we do!). Don't use hoses to clean anything. It becomes a way of life rather than a hardship. We only really notice when we have visitors and have to remember to flush and get shocked at how often they need to wash dishes/clothes that they have hardly used!
LikeLike
I live in Scotland and don't have a water meter-it is paid for in the Council Tax (£218 per month). But I do pay attention to our water use and don't leave taps running etc. We also have loos with a choice of flushes. Like you I put the dishwasher on once a day and I think it does use less water. I think handwashing studies assume you rinse dishes too.As I would always rinse them then the dishwasher uses less water in my case. And I try to fill the kettle with the appropriate amount of water too. All clothes washing is with a full load. But it IS frustrating to see people hosing down cars, washing paths with a hose and I even saw a man power hosing his garden wall. What for???!!
LikeLike
We use an average of 538 litres a day. But there are 4 of us in the house and we have a pool. So we are well down on what the graphic says the average Australian uses. Our water supply company says a household with four people which has water efficient devices installed should use 542 litres, so we are under that too. Our previous bill was 459 litres a day.
Our savings are due to a very efficient dishwasher and a super efficient washing machine. We also take quick showers and don't water the garden unless it has been dry for a very long time. I used to put a bucket in the shower to catch the water before it was warm enough to get in, and then use that water to flush the toilet. But I have become lazy recently. Will have to look at doing that again. We are paying about $1000Australian a year for our water.
LikeLike
Our bill is $600 canadian a year. I will stop complaining about how high it is.
LikeLike
Do you use the spin cycle at all before you rinse? I also wondered what a 'spin dryer' is? Great idea!
LikeLike
I'm from the US and wondered if you'd mind sharing what a 'water butt' is and also what does 'froog' mean? 🙂
LikeLike
Water Butt - a 1000 litre plastic receptacle at the bottom of a downpipe which collects rain water.
Froogs - Frugal Queen
LikeLike
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/12836526/art/white-knight/28009w-spin-dryer-white.html?srcid=11270&nopopup=1&gclid=CIzP5Iv2tbMCFefMtAodFTsAdQ
That's a spin dryer - you hand wash clothes and spin the water out of it in a machine and then hand the clothes up to dry
LikeLike
This post made me smile because I actually do most of the water conservation tips mentioned here. “Shower standing in a stacker box or baby bath and use the water to flush the loo.”—- Oh yes! :'D At first, my children found it strange to do it. But soon after, they got used to it. Haha! Well, it really takes some time for you to become acquainted with things like this! 😉
Lorenza Coon
LikeLike