How much water (in litres) do you use? 6 October 2022 at 2:02PM in Water bills 9 replies 826 views

bolo

So, Family of 4 here, with 2 pre teenage boys. for the past couple of months we have been using 940 litres a day according to metered readings. 
Use the washing machine maybe twice every 3 days, cook most nights. Does that usage seem reasonable? Must admit i was a little shocked with such a high daily number.

lindatoo

I live alone and use an average of 70 litres per day. I use my washer 1-2 times a week, have a low flow shower head and in the summer used dish washing water  filtered) to water my plants, don't wash my car very often but part from that use water pretty much as I did before getting my meter .So I would say your usage does seem high for 4 people. Oh yes and I also never use my dishwasher as its just easier to hand wash the few dishes I use. I suspect showers and baths could be your main culprits. Hope this helps . 

Cardew

The average is approx 55-60m3 per person per year. 

As for a family of 4 that is approx 600 to 650 litres a day.

This subject has been covered many times on MSE and some people seem to manage on a fraction of the average.

There are many websites on what uses water, According to the Energy Saving Trust:

• Showers are the biggest water user in the house (25%), followed by lavatories (22%). • On average, each individual takes 4.4 showers and 1.3 baths each week. • People generally spend seven-and-a-half minutes in the shower. 87% of people do not exceed ten minutes on their daily shower.

bolo

We just shower, no watering of plants (we collect rain water for that), or car washing yet. Let me see if I can work out where the water is going....

Jonboy_1984

I would start by turning everything off and ensuring the water meter stops moving, to ensure no hidden leaks.

Then I would ensure toilet overflows are not running - look for tiny little ripples in the water in the pan and also open the cistern to ensure water has stopped below the overflow pipe height.

RCN10

That is high. Check for bad usage habits eg taps left running while cleaning teeth or face washing, main flush used instead of partial, (quick) showers instead of baths

danny_x

In a household of two, we use about 250 litres/day. It used to be much higher until a builder discovered that we had a leak. Before we moved in, a deadleg copper pipe had just had its end bent over and hammered flat; eventually the water pressure had made it leak (with a hissing sound under the floorboards that we hadn't noticed). So, as someone wrote above, the first thing is to turn all the water off, read the meter, and check it doesn't go up.
Then it's checking for bad usage habits as someone else wrote above.

QrizB

bolo said:

So, Family of 4 here, with 2 pre teenage boys. for the past couple of months we have been using 940 litres a day according to metered readings.

Four of us, two adults two teens, and based on recent bills we're using 250-350 litres per day between us.

If we started using 940 litres a day I'd be looking for leaks!

bolo

i have gone onto the Southern Water website and ordered some of the stuff to test the toilets for leakage and to regulate the tap flow. see if it helps. I think the last month was just a heavy month of usage but best to be sure. Thanks for all the replies

bolo

I had some friends stay over for a bit too... think all that added to the usage
Let me monitor a bit... Its a pain the water min is a 30 sec from the house!