How much water do you use?

We use a lot but we have tanks as well as the town water. The tanks are for when we have droughts and for the pool. It is very ,very expensive here, just the standing charges without any actual usage.

We have a smart water meter and use twice as much as you infoman
There are 2 of us with DS here at weekends. Our consumption is more in the summer as we water the garden, wash cars and have more showers.
I have noticed that we use less now that we have a dishwasher than before.

Strange that you use more water in winter OP, I would have thought it would be the other way round. We don’t use as much as you - showers only rather than baths and not long ones, just ‘as long as it takes’. We have water butts to collect rainwater for watering the garden and very rarely use the hose on it. The washing machine and dishwasher are efficient in water use too.

We used 69 cubic metres from February to August.

Sorry if I have digressed from the post but I have never understood that people use running water when either washing or rinsing dishes, as a dishwasher uses the same water whether it be for 3 plates or for full machine. When I was young 50/60s my mother filled a basin of hot water and that was that, there was no using running water.

I've absolutely no idea as they look at the meter as it's under a cover I can't lift. I just pay the bill. I use a water barrel outside for plants and always fix a dripping tap and relatively careful tho like just enough for one tea in kettle etc etc

You can see what you’ve used on the bills Neen.

We used 22m3. But, I am manic about wasting water.

We are metered.

From 22nd February to 18th August, we used 57,000 litres.

Three adults, daily showers, dishwasher and washing machine on daily.

Our monthly direct debit has reduced - by £2 a month

We have a water butt outside for watering the garden. My husband has just finished building a massive shed/workshop and he's going to attach a water butt to that too.

Washing machine on every day HG?!?. Are you a spectacularly mucky lot?

I have several rainwater storage tanks for watering the garden - and can't imagine using mains water for that.

It seems bonkers to use fully treated water for flushing the loos. I think new houses should be required to have storage systems. They could capture all the rain, bath and shower water for flushing - before any topping up with mains.

When we moved into our first house with a meter it was a new build with a fault on the system which resulted in an overflow running into the garden - like a tap being on 24 hours a day. When they eventually fixed it (after many weeks) we told them we expected to be refunded for the wasted water. We had to read our meter each week to get an estimate of our normal usage. The builders claimed we used much less than average and were reluctant to pay as that meant the wastage was greater, so we started comparing with our next door neighbours - family of 5 compared to our 4 -
and it turned out we used about half the amount they did. In the end the builders paid what they owed which was a three figure sum! We just had to conclude that either our neighbours were wasteful or we just didn't wash enough!

They also had to completely re-lay the back lawn as the water pouring out for so long made the ground sink. We joked about having crocodiles in the swamp!

Hetty58

I have several rainwater storage tanks for watering the garden - and can't imagine using mains water for that.

It seems bonkers to use fully treated water for flushing the loos. I think new houses should be required to have storage systems. They could capture all the rain, bath and shower water for flushing - before any topping up with mains.

I agree Hetty, but that would require two systems which would cost the builders money!

(We ran our numerous water butts dry a couple of times this summer. Despite the dull weather we didn't get much rain.)

I’ve just checked our bills and for the past 2 years we’ve used 30m3 (30,000 litres) per year, so that averages at 82 litres per day.
But I’m on my own most of the time as hubby works abroad 10 months of the year. We have 2 water butts for the garden, and washing machine & dishwasher are on once a week each (plus a mid week rinse programme for dishwasher)
Must admit that we’ve been careful with water since we got our first meter 26 years ago & thought it would cost a fortune due to bathing children each night & running the washing machine all the time! It was still cheaper than the water rates we’d previously paid to our great relief!

There could be a leak in your water pipes between the meter and your taps. The best thing to do is to contact your water supplier and ask if the supply can be tested.

If the leak is between the meter and your taps, the repair of the pipe will be your responsibility.

In a previous home, before water meters, the leak in our neighbours supply pipe was found when they began to have subsidence problems on one corner of the house. Iy seemed that the leaking watr had excavated a big hole underground and that corner of the house was gently collapsing into it.

No idea, no meters here.

Just checked ours online, I can’t find how many litres per day, but it costs £1 per day, I don’t know if that’s high or low?