Water Saving Tips

The Consumer Council

Around 155 litres of water are used by each person everyday. Here are some simple tips from NI Water to help you use less water.

Tips for your house

  • Only boil as much water as you need in your kettle - Overfilling can use twice as much energy and water, every time you boil.
  • Try to only turn on your washing machine for a full load - Two half loads uses more water than one full load.
  • Put a jug of tap water into the fridge - This uses less water than letting the tap run cold each time you want a drink.
  • Fill a watering can or attach a trigger nozzle if you are in the garden watering your plants - Also, watering early in the morning or late in the afternoon will reduce evaporation.
  • Try the 4 minute shower challenge - To try and save water, put on your favourite 4 minute song and see if you can finish before the end.
  • Fix your leaking taps - A dripping tap can waste more than 60 litres of water per week.
  • Use a bowl for washing vegetables - As a bonus, you can use this water to water your plants afterwards.
  • Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth - A running tap can use 6 litres of water per minute.
  • Check to ensure your toilet is not leaking - If you can hear a flow of water when the toilet hasn’t been flushed or can see a slight but constant trickle at the back of the toilet pan, you may have a leaky loo.

How to check if your toilet is leaking:

  • Wait until 30 minutes after the last flush then wipe the back of the pan dry with toilet tissue.
  • Place a new, dry sheet of toilet tissue across the back of the pan.
  • Leave it in place for up to three hours without using the toilet (it might be best to do this overnight).
  • If the paper is wet or torn in the morning, you know you have a leaky loo.

Tips for your garden

  • Stop using garden hose pipes and sprinklers. Use a watering can instead of a hose to water plants. A hose uses more water in one hour than the average family uses in the whole day!
  • Don’t fill swimming/paddling pools and hot tubs. This is a waste of a precious resource. Filling a 12ft swimming pool in your back yard uses the water for 500 people’s daily handwashing. 
  • Lawns are great survivors - a sprinkler can use as much as 1,000 litres of clean drinking water in a single hour; more than a family of four would use in a whole day. Even when they look dry and brown, they’ll spring back with the first heavy rain, so avoid watering them wherever possible.
  • Buy water efficient plants - If you are buying new plants now the garden centres are open look out for water efficient plants that still brighten your garden
  • Be pot savvy - If you’re potting up or planting containers, use ones made from plastic, glazed terracotta or wood. These tend to lose less water than bare terracotta. Bury a short length of pipe into your pot; if you water into the tube the water goes directly to the roots where the plant needs it most
  • Mulch weeds away - Use mulches like bark chips or gravel to retain moisture and keep weeds down