When it comes to being green, I have to admit that baths are my downfall. So I decided to look into just how much water I was using, whether it really was such a sin (are power showers any better?), and how I could green up my daily wash. Pay attention, bath people!
Fronting a campaign to stop us wasting water in the bathroom is globetrotter Ben Fogle (now there's someone I wouldn't kick out of the shower), who has experienced first-hand the reality of living without abundant water. Along with DIY bods B&Q he's come up with a list of water-saving tips - and they don't all involve foregoing the bathtub. Follow the jump to see how you could save water around the house. It's all about the small things: fixing that dripping tap could save up to 20 litres of water per day...
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* Install a water butt or underground storage tank to collect rainwater for use in the garden
* Use anonline water calculator at to highlight areas where you can become more water efficient
* Think before you flush. Don't use the toilet as a dustbin! Each flush can be as much as 11 litres
* Try washing vegetables in a bowl, rather than under a tap. Putting a lid on a saucepan will also mean you need to use less water when boiling vegetables
* Save hassle as well as water by plugging leaks and fixing drips - a dripping tap can waste 20 litres of water a day.
Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But what about the bath question? Sadly, it does seem to be the case that foregoing baths for showers (or at least limiting them to once a week) will save a significant amount of water. A recent study showed that by filling the bath six times a week, the average bath user pulls the plug on 24,960 litres in a year - around two million litres in a lifetime. By using a shower instead, you'll be halving that amount: a 10-minute shower uses around 35 litres of water compared to 80 litres used to fill a bath. Of course, if you opt to get friendly in the tub and share your bath, that's another way of doing it...the choice is yours.
For those who want to go a step further and limit the amount of water used while showering, you could invest in an eco-shower head, which limit the amount of water used without compromising on pressure; this one claims to make water savings of between 30 and 70%. We'll soon be testing it out on Hippyshopper, and will be testing those 'no pressure loss' claims to the max.
The water companies would have us believe that wasting water is an environmental sin! It's not! We live is a VERY wet country. Any "water shortage" is due the fact that our water network is an aging hulk, and our water companies are incompetant at fixing leaks. The real water shortage is a myth, perpetuated so that the water companies can install metres and over charge everyday folk for what is a right, not a privilage.
The real reason we shouldn't bathe is because of the amount of energy it takes to heat so much water. But if you have an efficient enough boiler, it shouldn't be so much of a worry. In any case, we should be able to use as much COLD water as we like.