WITH millions of households set to pay more for their water bills per year, it’s worth understanding the best ways to reduce your usage.
Water bills in England and Wales are expected to increase by an average of £19 a year between 2025 and 2030, regulator Ofwat said.
Unless you do pay a fixed amount for your water, your monthly or annual bill is based on how much water you use.
But if you use a water meter, there are ways to make big savings with the help of a few simple gadgets which typically cost less than a tenner.
Some are even available for free from your water company.
Additionally, the added bonus is that lowering your water usage can often reduce your gas and electricity bills as you aren’t heating much water.
Luckily for us though, there are several nifty gadgets you can use to help cut down your usage.
Here we explain the items that are worth getting in your home.
Water butts are plastic containers that typically connect to the guttering of your home, to collect rainwater from your rooftop.
The water collected can then be put to good use to water your garden instead of relying on using a hose or outside tap.
Standard garden water butts can hold up to 200 litres of rainwater at a time.
Over the course of a year, you could collect as much as 85,000 litres of water, which would otherwise be wasted on the roof.
By saving just 5,000 litres of water per year, you could reduce your annual bill by £15.
DIY stores such as Homebase or Screwfix sell water butts for approximately £30 to £40.
Another simple way to cut your water bill is to switch to a more efficient showerhead.
Big shower heads use up to fifteen litres of water per minute, whereas a more efficient model will cut that amount down by half, to approximately between 6 and 8 litres.
A household of four could save as much as £70 a year on gas for water heating by switching.
You could also save a further £115 a year on water bills if you have a water meter.
You should check with your water company if you can get a more efficient showerhead for free.
You can also buy a new one for a tenner.
Make sure to shower for less than four minutes, as this will also help you save water as well as money.
Allegedly cutting your time in the shower by just one minute will save you £128 a year.
If your toilet has an old-style push flush, swap it for a Save the Flush or Hippo bad and you could save 1.2 litres of water.
This amounts to a saving of 50 to 60 per cent of water per use.
The gadget fits inside your cistern, removing some of the water.
Several water companies give these out for free to customers, so make sure to check with your supplier.
Modern toilets tend to be dual flush, but a lot of these systems tend to leak wasting water which is not cost-efficient.
If you spot a continuous flow of water in your toilet, your system is leaking and will need to be fixed.
Additionally, a lot of people tend to push both buttons on the dual toilet flush, or use the bigger flush, when there is no need.
Just switching to the smaller flush will save you £100 a year.
If you have a leaky tap or need to upgrade, look for a more water-efficient model.
Modern taps typically use less water than older taps.
One top tip is to fix an aerator to the end of the nozzle which will make it seem like you’re using more water – when you’re actually using less.
These gadgets are easy to fit yourself and can be obtained for free from water companies.
You can also buy them from DIT or bathroom companies for approximately a fiver – and you’ll be saving around £36 a year.
IT'S always worth checking if you qualify for a discount or extra support to help pay your water bill.
Over two million households who qualify to be on discounted social water tariffs aren’t claiming the savings provided, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
Only 1.3million households are currently issued with a social water tariff – up 19% from the previous year.
And the average household qualifying for the discounted water rates can slash their bills by £160 a year.
Every water company has a social tariff scheme which can help reduce your bills if you’re on a low income and the CCW is calling on customers to take advantage before bills rise in April.
Who’s eligible for help and the level of support offered varies depending on your water company.
Most suppliers also have a pot of money to dish out to thousands of customers who are under pressure from rising costs – and you don’t have to pay it back.
These grants can be worth hundreds of pounds offering a vital lifeline when faced with daunting water bills.
The exact amount you can get depends on where you live and your supplier, as well as your individual circumstances.
Many billpayers across the country could also get help paying off water debts through a little-known scheme and even get the balance written off.
Companies match the payments eligible customers make against the debt on their account to help clear it sooner.
If you’re on a water meter but find it hard to save water as you have a large family or water-dependent medical condition, you may be able to cap your bills through the WaterSure scheme.
Bills are capped at the average amount for your supplier, so the amount you could save will vary.
The Consumer Council for Water estimates that bills are reduced by £307 on average through the scheme.
If you’re contemplating a car wash, using a hose can will typically use 400 to 480 litres of water, which will ramp up your water bill.
If you use a bucket and sponge instead, your water usage will be radically cut.
For example, if you wash your car once a month and switch a hose for a bucket, you will typically use just 32 litres of water.
That’s based on a four-buckets-per-car average.
If you don’t already have a bucket lying around at home, you can pick one up for just £1 at B&Q.
If you are using a hose to water the garden or wash your car, consider attaching a trigger hose to the end.
These little gadgets cost less than £10 from DIY or gardening shops and allow you to control the output.
It means the water isn’t continuously running and you can turn the water on and off as you need it.
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