How to cut water bill?

Marisco

There is a hell of a difference in tariff depending where you live!!! Mine is £26 pm in the North East (2 adults) my granddaughter pays £45pm in North Wales (1 adult & 1 toddler) and my daughter pays £35 also N Wales (2 adults 2 kids) We are not metered, I looked into it and it looks like we would end up paying more!!!:eek:

consultant31

I just fill a 2 litre pop bottle and pop it in the tank - you only use half the water with each flush - there never seems to be a problem flushing everything away!

Washing-up water is good for your plants as the detergent will kill off the aphids.

tealady

Hi
I would get yourself a rain water butt. They are easy to fit and you can use the water for the garden. If I had room I would have more!

Hannah_10

Rather than lug dishwater upstairs try leaving the bath water in and using that to flush the loo. I use an old 5L paint pot for a bucket because I was too cheap even to spend out for that! I worked out it's basically free baths because I would have had to pay for flushing the loo anyhow. Someone said leave the loo unflushed sometimes, but in my small humid bathroom I find that smelly. Bathwater on the other hand smells of soap (even after a filthy, sweaty, post-sport bloke has used it).

SWW do free Hippo's on thier website, they also do a book of tips (although it hasn't got the one about the bath water and the loo).

Another one I don't think is on SWW's website is never, ever wash up less than a bowl full. Especially not doing a coffee mug under the running tap. To see why go wash one now exactly as you normally would, and put the bowl under so you can see how much water you use. Then think about how much you use for a full familly meal with pudding and the pans (one bowl, perhaps 2 at a push). See what I mean? Your recycling can be washed up with the dishes (at the end when the water's unfit for plates). On this note, there really isn't any subsitute for Fairy if you're trying to make a bowl of water do a sunday dinner wash. Thankfully it's on offer a lot at supermarkets so use those to stock up.

Steamer pans are fab, they save you a bit of water, but they also save you time and save electric/gas because they only use one hob. The other thing is you know how vitamins disolve in water and cooking veg takes some out? Well any nutrients that do get lost in a steamer (steamers remove less vitamins than boiling) are then found in the veg water at the bottom- so you just cool it and give it to the dog and there you go, in effect free cooking water because you were going to give the dog water anyway. Doesn't work with all cats, some are stuck up!

Hannah_10

MrsPorridge wrote: »

We;re paying £56.60 per month for 2 adults and one child

As another long-suffering SWW customer can I say you're doing well. That's not bad for a family of 4 living in the SWW area.

For anyone who didn't know we've got the worst water bills of anywhere in the country, because of the high coastline/waterway to people ratio.

cyclura

Another SWW customer here and i jave just gone from meter to unmetered and its actually cheaper for me not to have a meter. Have you looked at the price you would be charged if you were unmetered

Angela84

Good gracious, we're in South West with Wessex Water I believe, and I paid our 6 month bill today for £154, so thats £25 a month, and we are 2 adults and a child with 2 bathrooms! We couldn't fit Hippos as we have those 1 button for wees 1 button for the other and I think that has made a big difference.
Also just going to the economy wash on our dishwasher (making sure its rinsed before it goes in) has helped I think.

Good luck!

Hannah_10

Wessex water and South West Water are different companies.

meerkat2007

janninew wrote: »

Jeez that is high! I've had a meter for the past few years and I've just had my meter read and my monthly payments are 21.00 per month, that's for 2 adults and 1 baby (and 3 dogs!) I live in the North West, I had no idea water prices were so dramatically different around the country. Good luck with your attempts to cut back!

That's interesting, janninew: I'm also in the North West and about to switch to a meter. There's just me and two dogs, and without a meter, I'm paying around £26 a month at the moment.

Thanks for posting.

millym

Agree with all the above tips.

Also, only wash dishes once a day, using 1 basin of water. Put that water in a bucket and use it to mop the floor (add a quirt of bleach or whatever).

Have a shower with the plug in and use the water in the bath to flush the toilet, clean the bathroom, whatever.

Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth.

Just 2 adults in our house and we managed to get the monthly bill down from £38 to £25! HTH.