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Tips to save on water consumption

Did you know that you use about 52,000 liters of water per year? A lot can be saved on this. With these tips to save on water consumption, you will save both water and money.

How much water do you use per person?

How much water is used on average differs per situation. The larger a family, the less water is used. Below you can see the water consumption per person up to a family of 4 people.

What is drinking water used for in a household?

Now that you know how much water goes through per person, you may be wondering what all that water is used for. Most people assume that most of it is used for showering and going to the toilet. This is also true, since about half of your total consumption is required for this. But did you know that washing dishes by hand or watering the plants also costs a lot of water?

In addition, water is needed for:

  • Washing clothes (washing machine)
  • Drink
  • Cooking food
  • Use of the washbasin
  • Household chores (mopping, ironing, dishwasher, washing windows)

Do you have a garden? Do you set up a swimming pool in the summer? Or is there a bath in the house? Then consumption will be a lot higher.

Tips to save on water consumption

Although water in itself does not cost that much, it is advisable to save on this. Perhaps not so much from the point of view of your wallet, but especially with regard to the environment. In addition, it may just happen that we are heading for another warm summer, in which it becomes necessary to be frugal with drinking water.

To be able to save and keep track of whether this is successful, it is useful to know your water consumption. You can see your consumption on the annual statement. It is good to keep a monthly record of your water consumption. In this way you will immediately discover if there are suddenly any deviations. This can be the case, for example, if there is a water leak somewhere.

A water leak can not only entail high costs, but also many other inconveniences. Think about mold and moisture in the house. Don't want to be faced with unpleasant surprises? Then consider purchasing a Grohe water sensor.

Does your water consumption look normal? Then apply the tips below to save on water.

Shower a minute less

Did you know that an average shower takes 8 minutes? During those 8 minutes, 70 liters of drinking water pass through. By shortening the shower by a minute, you can easily save 2200 liters per year! If you also use a water-saving shower head, this increases even more.

Rain barrel in the garden

Few people have a rain barrel in their garden. However, by installing a rain barrel you can save a lot of water. Watering garden and house plants takes quite a lot of water on an annual basis. Rainwater not only costs nothing, but is also very good for your plants. The savings? Watering your garden for 15 minutes 'costs' 100 liters of water!

Don't have any plants in the garden or at home? Then you can use the rainwater for other things. Rainwater is perfect for cleaning the windows or washing the car.

Save water by flushing the toilet

You use an average of 35 liters of water per day to flush the toilet. That can be done differently and more effectively. Many people do not use the buttons of the toilet properly. For a small message, the small button is more than enough. Are you using the right button to flush the toilet? Then this can quickly save half the water consumption for the toilet.

You could also use a trick to make the sink less full. To do this, fill a plastic bottle halfway with sand. Top up with water. Close and place this bottle in the water bowl of your toilet without interfering with the flushing mechanism. The bottle saves you no less than 1.5 liters of water per rinse!

Do not let water run unnecessarily

Whether you're brushing your teeth, doing the dishes or shaving, don't leave the tap on unnecessarily. Keeping the tap closed while brushing your teeth saves up to 40 liters of water.

Collect and use unused water

Of course you don't get into the shower right away, because the water has to come up to temperature first. Unfortunately, a lot of water is also lost. You can now collect this water in a bucket. You can use the unused water for various things. For example, flush your toilet, water the plants in the house or clean your car with it. Incidentally, this also applies to water that you let run while washing vegetables and fruit.

Replace a leaking or dripping tap

At first glance, a leaking or dripping tap seems to make little difference. Especially because it goes very slowly and you don't think about it. However, a leaking tap can quickly result in thousands of liters of water wasted per year. So do you want to save on water? Then make sure to replace the faucet as soon as possible.

Use a bucket or watering can

Of course, a garden hose is a beautiful and useful thing. However, a lot of water is lost when using this. You can prevent this by using a watering can. With this you only water the plants and as little water as possible is lost.

Did you wash your car yourself? Or do you clean the garden? Do not use a garden hose or a high-pressure cleaner for this, but a bucket. This can save you tens of liters. A nice saving that is good for your wallet and the environment.

Dishwashing or dishwasher

While most people think washing dishes by hand is cheaper, it doesn't have to be. That depends on a number of things. The size of your household determines the amount of dishes you have. In addition, the way in which you use the dishwasher and do regular dishes is also very important.

Do you want to save water? Then it is a must in any case not to pre-rinse the dishes. Regardless of whether you wash by hand or in the dishwasher. Incidentally, pre-rinsing in a dishwasher is not recommended in any case. Do you leave the tap open while washing dishes? Then you're wasting water and a dishwasher is a better choice. You will find an extensive article about this at Consumentenbond.nl.

Tips to save water

So there are different ways to save water in and around the house. It starts in the kitchen and ends outside in the garden. By applying all the above tips, you can save a few hundred to even thousands of liters of water per year. Perhaps a small saving in costs, but a major impact on the environment. Would you like to see some tips again? Watch the video below.