Of course, during times like these, it is important to find effective ways to reduce the amount of water that you use. Here are some tips to help you conserve precious water:


Bathroom
1. If you take baths regularly, consider moving to showers: you will save 400 litres of water a week simply by making this change. Try to keep these showers down to five minutes, which is more than enough time to get completely clean.

2. If you do not have a shower fixture, buy the necessary attachments for your bath taps.

3. If you leave the tap on while you brush your teeth, you are wasting 9 litres per minute, so rinse out with a glass of water instead. The same goes for shaving.

Kitchen
1. If you boil an egg, do not pour the excess water down the sink, use it to feed the plants, which will enjoy the nutrients that came off the egg.

2. When you want to make one cup of tea or coffee, fill the cup with water and then pour the water into the kettle, to minimise the amount of water and electricity used.

3. Use a bowl for washing your dishes and vegetables, rather than letting water run down the plug while you are scrubbing.

Garden
1. Buy yourself a water butt to collect any rainwater that falls in the garden. This can then be used to water the plants during dryer periods later.

2. If you use a sprinkler be careful that it is necessary – check the weather to see if rain is expected the next day

3. When you mow the lawn, raise the cut to allow the grass to grow longer: longer grass requires less watering, and if you leave the clippings on the lawn when it is dry, they slow down the evaporation of water from the soil.

4. Watering during the coolest part of the day also reduces evaporation.

General
1. 90 litres of water can be wasted per week by a single dripping tap, so make sure they are all turned tightly off.

2. Check all taps and fixtures for leaks and deal with any that you find, even if this means getting the plumber in.

3. Use plugs, so that you can make the most of the water you use.

4. Rush hour for water is between 5.30pm and 8pm, so it is wise to do your washing and plant watering before or after this time.

5. Wait until you have a full load before you turn a batch of laundry around.