Be Water Wise There are many ways we can reduce waste and save water. Below is a selection of useful hints and tips to help you save water. We must save water because there are approximately 60 million people living in the UK, using on average 150 litres of water per day for washing, cooking and drinking. Improvements in lifestyle and new technologies within the domestic environment mean we use 55% more water than we did 25 years ago, with half of this being used within the bathroom environment. As climate change takes a greater hold on the environment, we are constantly being asked to use water wisely. The BMA has put together a ‘top twenty’ of helpful hints and tips to help you use less water and save money. The less water you use, the less you pay and even better, the less you pay for heating hot water. Today’s modern bathroom equipment has been designed to use less water – so the ultimate in saving water is to change that old water guzzling bathroom suite with an ultra modern one, that will enhance your lifestyle, help the environment and will actually increase the value of your home – what are you waiting for! TOP TWENTY TIPS FOR SAVING WATER IN THE BATHROOM 1. Did you know when you brush your teeth under running water you can use as much as 10 litres of water per minute. The British Dental Health Foundation suggests that, to maintain oral hygiene, you spend 5 minutes a day cleaning your teeth– if you leave the tap running for all that time you use 18,250 litres per year. Using a tumbler, instead of running the tap water for rinsing can save 9 litres of  water per minute, that’s 16,425 litres of water per person, saved during 12 months. Across the nation that’s 960 billion litres of water saved during 1 year. See www.dentalhealth.org.uk 2. Fix that dripping tap – for every tap that is constantly dripping around 90 litres of water is wasted every week, that's 4,680 litres wasted every year. 3. Did you know that on average you go to the loo 5 times a day - as much as 10,950 litres of water can be wasted per person over a one-year period. Today’s modern toilets flush on less than 6 litres of water, older ones can flush as much as 13 litres of water – that’s more than a 50% saving – change that loo today! Dual flush toilets operating on 6 and 4 litres or less save the most water. 4. Did you know that for every bath you take you use a minimum of 100 litres of  water? Install a new bath made from acrylic and the water will stay warmer  longer – no need to keep topping up with hot water! 5. Taking a shower instead of a bath can save up to 40% of the water that you use. 6. Reducing the time you spend in the shower will save water and energy. If your  shower uses 9 litres of water per minute and you reduce the time you spend in it  by 1 minute you could save a total of 3,285 litres of water a year, plus you will  reduce your heating costs. 7. Don’t overfill the bath. You can save water and energy by not over filling it. 8. Put the plug in when washing hands or shaving in a basin, rather than leaving the tap running. On average, basin taps deliver 6 litres of water a minute. In normal use a basin will take 3 litres of water, that’s a saving of 50%. 9. Many of us use the toilet as a waste bin – the BMA has heard of people throwing make-up tissues, the cast off contents of their hairbrush, captured spiders and even dead goldfish down the loo. To save unnecessary waste of water, wrap and throw them away in a suitable bin. 10. Fit new washers in cisterns that are overflowing. 11. Install press taps in cloakroom basins. Most people only use the basin in  cloakrooms for rinsing hands. 12. When cleaning the bathroom, turn the tap on only to rinse the cleaning product, rinse the cloth in the basin – with the plug in! 13. Insulate all exposed water pipes. Dead leg of water (the water that remains in the pipe once the delivery mechanism has been turned off) can cause damage if the pipes burst. 14. When planning your bathroom keep these ‘dead-legs’ in your hot-water supply to a minimum. If you have to run the basin or bath taps or the shower until the  cooled water is removed and the hot water arrives, you can run off more water  than is actually used. 15. Know where your stop taps are located. If a pipe bursts, you can waste copious amounts of water, and cause untold damage to the home. 16. Consider fitting a water meter. It will help you to be more conscious about using water and save you money! 17. Use bath water to water garden plants and the lawn especially in hot dry summers. 18. Increasingly becoming more popular, why not consider fitting a domestic urinal  for the men in your home. These can flush with just two litres of water and if fitted  in all British homes, we would save almost 300 billion litres of water per year. 19. Consider fitting other water efficient appliances in your home such as modern washing machines and dishwashers. These will save water and energy too. 20. We don’t want to return to the practices of three generations ago - no flushing  toilets, communal privy, squares of news papers and the old tin bath, so let’s  make sure we're efficient with the water we have now and use it wisely so that  we can continue to enjoy modern bathrooms.