Get A Free Hippo - And Save Water

MY colleague Adam emailed me to say he had switched to a water meter in October and since then his water bill had halved.

He wrote: “We are two adults and a baby, so not huge water users, but we do throw the boy in a bath every now and then and hose down the worst of it.”

He also admitted to having "a strange selection" of plants which required water – but that his car was rather a stranger to the wet stuff.

As Adam says, this is a handy tip for the water-savvy reader.

His email prompted me to look into the whole water-saving business. Top of the list seems to be to switch to a meter, if you don’t already have one. It may not be economic if you have a large family of water-guzzling little tikes but for most people it will save money.

Our water comes from rivers and groundwater so every drop we use has a direct effect on the environment. Limiting our intake makes sense not only financially but environmentally too.

There’s lots you can do to save water. I’ve trawled the internet on your behalf and the following are the top tips.

* Put a displacement device like a ‘hippo’ in your toilet cistern. If you don’t know what a water hippo is or want more information, click here. You can get a free hippo and free 24-page water conservation advice booklet from South West Water – click here.

* Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. Leaving it on can waste up to 5 litres of water per minute.

* Always run washing machines and dishwashers with a full load and on the economy setting

* Fix dripping taps; they can waste up to four litres of water a day.

* Use a bowl of water to wash fruit and vegetables. Leftover water can be used for watering plants.

* Use the minimum amount of water required when you boil water in saucepans and kettles.

* Wait until you have a full load before switching the washing-machine or dishwasher. Some have a ‘half load’ setting but these use more than half the normal amount of water.

* A 5-minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath. But power showers can use more water than a bath in less than 5 minutes.
* Burst water pipes can cause serious damage as well as waste water. Ensure your water pipes and external taps are lagged in time for the cold winter months.

Here some water-saving tips for outdoors which are straight from gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh:

* Water your garden in the cool of the early morning or evening. This will reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation.

* If you water plants and shrubs too often their roots will remain shallow, weakening the plant. Leave them alone until they show signs of wilting.
Collect rainwater in water-butts and use a watering can instead of a hose. If you prefer to use a hosepipe, fit a trigger nozzle to control the flow.
Regularly weed and hoe your garden, to ensure that watering helps plants and not weeds.

* Plant flowers and shrubs that thrive in hot and dry conditions such as thyme, evening primrose, rock rose, Californian poppy, pinks, lavender, buddleia and hebes.
Mulches such as wood chips, bark and gravel help to prevent water evaporation and also suppress weed growth, saving you both water and time spent weeding.

* Lawns can survive long periods of dry weather if the grass is not cut too short. Even if the grass turns brown, it will quickly recover after a few days of rain.
Garden sprinklers can use as much water in an hour as a family of four uses in a day. If you use a sprinkler, many water companies require you to have a water meter fitted.

If you have any tips you want to share, leave a comment or email me by clicking here.