Water again.

I agree with you Mollygo, I am in the same situation as you. It is like all the hints and tips given for saving energy. Most of them are things I have always done.

Mollygo
Same here. None of them ever mention saving run off water before the hot comes in.
The have diddly squat idea of how to save water or any other utility for that matter 😟

I used to work in a marketing team. Our Head of Service insisted during covid that I wrote a’newsletter’ with hints and tips on anything from MH problems to saving money! This was going out countywide and a lot of other organisations had covered the topics in a lot more depth than a single page A4 newsletter could do. So I basically rehashed and summarised information that was already out there knowing that it was probably pointless to over 75% of the recipients. Think that’s what has happened with the water companies.

A heck of a lot of water would be saved if the water companies would fix their leaks.

You put the washing machine on twice a week? Mines on 3 times a day

Fixing a dripping tap - £17

It would have been cheaper to have left the tap dripping for 10 years!

MerylStreep

Mollygo
Same here. None of them ever mention saving run off water before the hot comes in.
The have diddly squat idea of how to save water or any other utility for that matter 😟

They need to fix the leaks.

Despite all the rain, the levels of reservoirs in this area are still dropping.

One reservoir near us is looking quite good, but still not as full as I’d expect after all the rain.
As I walked the pooch around teatime, I noticed water trickling from two water points on the pavement. I’ll report them tomorrow.

I've no room in my kitchen for a dishwasher, never had one, but what are the relative water usage amounts for washing by hand as opposed to dishwasher? Obviously I save electricity but never worked out hand washing plates water wise.

What I'd really like to see are simple pipe diversions so in dry weather run off clean enough water could go to a water butt for the garden.

That's a bit like saying "save money on food by cutting out 2 meals a week"

It's so out of touch with reality

People who are struggling aren't wasting money already.

And probably don't even own a dishwasher

According to Which? dishwashers are more water efficient than hand washing.

www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-research-reveals-how-little-water-dishwashers-use-compared-to-hand-washing-aUDng9Y2iK8E

So we are the problem then?

Nothing to do with leaks not being repaired and high prices, whilst the share holders still get their dividends.

I find it patronising that the Utility Companies are telling us how to save money because they have raised their prices to an exorbitant amount, not because we are wastrels.

Biscuitmuncher

You put the washing machine on twice a week? Mines on 3 times a day

What, every day?

There were only 4 of us when the children were growing up, but didn’t have the washing machine on daily, let alone 3 times a day.

Exactly rubysong.
The road outside was dug up recently to lay fibre-optics or somesuch a Victorian culvert was exposed and photos duly taken of these incredible cast iron pipes which we are still using today.
The drains fill with leaves and then we get surface flooding.
I have the heating on twice a day and try to be out somewhere warm at least part of the day.
Buses are good! and there are several warm hubs now in the town to try to address this growing problem.
Scotland is colder than England so more expensive in fuel.

Severn Trent have been assiduous with their water saving messages here too. The year that our massive upland reservoir system was down to all but a teaspoonful, I don’t remember them doing that at all. We didn’t even have drought measures other than a hosepipe ban. We haven’t had drought measures at all this year, but the water levels have been very low again. Since I had my combi boiler fitted I’ve been horrified by the amount of water I have to run off before I get anything like hot. With the last system it was almost instantaneous and so hot it needed cold water adding. I save the run off water when I can and use it to flush the downstairs toilet when I am on my own. I only use my dishwasher when I cook lunch for the family; otherwise it would take weeks to fill it. I spend only a few minutes in the shower, and there’s not a lot of laundry to do these days. As someone said upthread, leaks are the biggest problem. My niece had one in the road outside her house. They came and dug a large hole then went away and left it. It quickly filled with water which then overflowed and ran down the road. It was four days before they came back to finish the work.

During the summer, when we were not allowed to water the garden, I collected the ‘cold’ water in a bowl that usually ran down the drain, before the warm water came through for my shower. This saved water was used for the potted plants on my balcony.
Today I felt guilty as I watched the clean water run straight down the drain. I suppose I should have collected it for a loo flush, for conservation of the planet.
Do you still collect or have you got out of the habit?

NotAGran55

According to Which? dishwashers are more water efficient than hand washing.

www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-research-reveals-how-little-water-dishwashers-use-compared-to-hand-washing-aUDng9Y2iK8E

Surely this depends on how you hand wash your dishes. A bowl for the soap wash and another bowl for the rinse. Not the running tap which seems to be the fashion with some.

When I take over running this country after my carefully orchestrated coup, the water companies will be first in line for nationalisation. The amount of water wasted through unrepaired leaks is massive compared to the amounts I can save by using their stating the bleeding obvious handy tips. Coincidentally, we have just received our 6 monthly statement from Anglian Water. We pay £16 per month ( metered), have a credit of £45 so obviously our new DD will be £27 per month. No, I couldn't work it out either.

Some years ago there was a leaking drain outside my block of flats and I reported it to South West Water. Despite repeated calls from other residents there was quite a deep pool. Finally after 5 days I contacted the local paper and they sent a reporter who took photos of several of us including an elderly standing with her stick in the pool. S W Water fixed it the day after the article appeared in the paper.

Why are people trying to save water? The country’s being flooded at the moment. Too much water not too little. Is it because you’re on a water meter? We don’t have a water meter.

Wyllow3

I've no room in my kitchen for a dishwasher, never had one, but what are the relative water usage amounts for washing by hand as opposed to dishwasher? Obviously I save electricity but never worked out hand washing plates water wise.

What I'd really like to see are simple pipe diversions so in dry weather run off clean enough water could go to a water butt for the garden.

We invested in a four place setting dishwasher a couple of years ago. It’s on every other day or so, when it gets full and on the eco setting I don’t think it uses as much water as hand washing and rinsing a sink full of dishes. We’ve also adjusted the screw that attaches the float to the fill valve in the cistern to reduce the amount of water in the toilet bowl, invested in tap aerators and installed a water saving shower head. We’ve definitely notices a saving on the water metering.

HousePlantQueen

When I take over running this country after my carefully orchestrated coup, the water companies will be first in line for nationalisation. The amount of water wasted through unrepaired leaks is massive compared to the amounts I can save by using their stating the bleeding obvious handy tips. Coincidentally, we have just received our 6 monthly statement from Anglian Water. We pay £16 per month ( metered), have a credit of £45 so obviously our new DD will be £27 per month. No, I couldn't work it out either.

We were the same with United Utilities. We had quite a big credit balance from the previous year, and yet the DD was still increased, and without a significant increase in usage or a big price rise, we will be again. When I rang them, they couldn’t explain properly either so have now returned the DD to the original level. There was talk earlier in the year of how the energy companies were hiking customer direct debits to increase their cash flow, and this smacks of the same thing.

My water is metered, Maddyone. Having a water meter has saved us a considerable amount of money since we moved into this house compared with our last one where we didn’t have a meter and were paying over the odds in a smaller house. There’s a bit of a counter intuitive thing going on with me at the moment. I save the run off in the house so that clean water I have paid for won’t just go down the drain, but after a heavy rainfall, have to go out and lower the level in the water butt by emptying all that free water onto the garden so that it doesn’t overflow!!

I understand Greyduster. We don’t have a water meter and to be honest we don’t really want one. It’s bad enough having to be careful with energy without having to watch every drop of water we use. And really I don’t see the need to ration water (apart from the occasional long periods we have without rain such as this summer) because in this country after a rain free period, without exception, we get loads of rain, such as we are doing now. When it’s thundering down all day long outside, I can’t see a need to ration water use.