Taxing times for the newly self-employed – Top Tips

It feels as if it has been a long gloomy winter and a wet grey spring. And in fact, according to Gov UK, we had the wettest March since 1981, with rainfall across most of England classed as exceptionally high. 

However, hosepipe bans are still in place from last summer in parts of Devon and Cornwall, and experts are warning that this may be extended to other parts of the UK as there may still be droughts despite the recent rainfall. So, anything that we can all do to use less water has got to be a good thing. 

Individual daily water usage in the UK is around 150 litres per day. Even if everyone could save just 5 litres a day, it could make a big cumulative difference. And remember, not only will you be helping the water situation in the UK, you will also be reducing your water bills.

Here are a few easy ways to save water this summer.

• Have a short shower instead of a long bath

You can save a lot of water by showering rather than taking a bath. An average bath uses around eighty litres of water, whereas a five minute shower only uses forty litres. And you can reduce this even further by making your shower just that little bit shorter: four minutes rather than five would save another eight litres of water.

If your shower is over your bath, you could save even more water by leaving the plug in the bath and reusing the collected water for other purposes such as watering your garden.

• Turn off taps in between use

We can waste so much water unnecessarily by leaving taps running when they are not needed. For example, when brushing teeth, taps don’t actually need to be running all the time, only when rinsing the brush. When you consider that a running tap can use up to nine litres of water a minute, turning them off when not in use makes a big difference.

And if you usually have to run your taps for a while to get really cold water to drink, why not keep a jug or bottle of water in the fridge so that there is chilled water readily available.

• Use less water when you flush

You can also save water when you flush the loo. Many toilets have a dual flush system offering the choice of a full flush or economy flush, and the economy flush is adequate for most uses. On average, this results in dual flush toilets typically using between four and six litres of water per flush as compared to older style single flush systems which can use up to thirteen litres per flush.

If you do have a single flush system, you can use a water-saving device in your toilet cistern such as a Buffaloo Cistern Bag which can save you between one and two litres of water every time you flush. For more information check out Save Water Save Money.

• Use your washing machine and dishwasher less

Washing machines and dishwashers can use up to sixty and ten litres of water per cycle respectively. So, for both appliances it makes sense to:

• Use the Eco setting where possible;
• Wait until you have a full load before using your appliance;
• Consider washing clothes less often and washing dishes by hand.

A few small changes along these lines can not only save water but could also extend the lives of your appliances.

• Water your garden wisely

Garden sprinklers and hose pipes can use up to 1000 litres of water an hour! So even if your area does not have a hosepipe ban, it’s a good idea to find other ways to water your garden. 

A good place to start is by installing a water butt in your garden so that when it does rain, the water will run from your roof into your water butt and be collected for future use. Water butts can usually store about 200 litres of water and, given that an average roof collects up to 85,000 litres of rain a year, could be filled 450 times!

It’s also possible to connect a hosepipe directly to a water butt so that you get the benefits of a hose without using any new water. Or you can use the water butt to fill a watering can and use that water instead. 

Watering cans can also be filled with reused water from other sources such as water conserved from your shower or water that you have saved from other household tasks such as rinsing fruit or vegetables. 

Another tip for saving water in your garden is to water plants in the morning. This is a cooler time of day and your plants and soil will be more receptive to water at this time, which means you need to use less water to water them thoroughly than at other, hotter, times of the day.

• Economise on cleaning your car

A hosepipe ban is not an excuse not to clean your car! In fact some parts of your car – such as windscreens, mirrors, lights and number plates – need to be kept clean for safety reasons.

If you have a standing source of water such as a water butt, one option is to rig up a hosepipe to this. Otherwise use buckets of water instead. And, just as for the garden, it is fine to reuse water for most stages of the car cleaning process.

You could also try a waterless clean. Start by carefully wiping as much excess dirt and dust off the car as possible with a dry cloth, then use a waterless cleaner to finish off. Waterless cleaners work by gently lifting contaminants away from the surface of the car without causing any scratches. Have a look at products such as Diamond Shine, Greased Lightning or Dirtbusters. 

• Ensure you fix leaks and drips

The final step in saving water in your home this summer is to ensure you fix any niggling plumbing problems. Any leaks and drips mean that water is being wasted unnecessarily: probably more water than you’d think. 

For example, did you know that a dripping tap can waste up to 5,500 litres a year? To put this in context, that would be enough water to fill a paddling pool every week for the whole summer. Whereas a leaking toilet can waste up to 400 litres of water a day : the equivalent to flushing 50 to 100 times. This alone could add around £300 to your annual water bill.

So if you have leaks or drips, don’t ignore them and hope they will go away, get them fixed now. Even if you have major plumbing issues that will cost money to sort out, it will be worth it in the long term – and remember that Munzee offers 24 month loans that may be able to help.

We hope that this article has been helpful in suggesting ways that you can save water in and around your home this summer. Remember to check back here soon for more lifestyle and financial tips from Munzee Loans.