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How to use less water – Bathroom water savers
Reduce your flush
Fit a flush-reducing device to save water in the loo!Fit a water-saving ‘Hippo’ or ‘save-a-flush’ device in your cistern to cut the amount of water you use each time you flush. Your water company may supply one free.
See Water-saving gadgets for our verdict on some of these devices.
- Saving Five litres (1p*) a day
Turn off the taps
Don’t leave the tap running when you brush your teeth. We could save enough water to supply 500,000 homes if the adult population of England and Wales remembered to turn the tap off each time.
- Saving Nine litres (1-2p) a day
Get a new toilet
Got an old loo that’s due to be replaced? Do it now. New toilets generally use less water and are more likely to have a dual flush.
Toilets bought before 1993 will probably have a cistern that uses 9.5 litres of water per flush while those installed since 1993 typically use 7.5 litres of water per flush. Even more efficient toilets that use just four or two litres are also now available.
- Saving 10 litres (2p) a day
Showers generally use less water than baths.Take a shower
Why not take a shower instead of a bath? A bath uses around 80 litres of water – by comparison a shower uses only around 35 litres. Be careful if you have a power shower though – some of these can actually use more water than a bath if they are turned up to maximum power.
- Saving 45 litres a shower (8-9p)
Save while you shower
When you’re in the shower, try to remember to turn it off while you’re lathering soap or shampoo. It sounds fiddly, but you can get used to it quickly.
- Saving 10 litres (2p) a shower
* ‘Money saved’ figures refer to water meter customers on an average tariff charging 0.19p per litre.
Article:- Which? Consumer Magazine
How to use less water – Water-saving gadgets
Toilet cistern devices
- The Hippo Water Saver (£6.99)
- Save-a-Flush (£1.41)
How they work
Water saving cistern devices are liquid or granule filled bags that are placed in the toilet cistern to reduce the volume of water available for each flush.
Performance
The Hippo Water Saver is a tough water-filled polythene bag. The Save-a-Flush is a perforated polythene bag containing water-absorbent granules that swell in size over time.
Both are easy to install and require no plumbing skills – the Hippo saves around 2.5 litres per flush, whereas the Save-a-flush only saves about 0.5 litres (less than the one litre claimed).
Verdict
Both products save water, although the Hippo saves more. But any submerged object would do – a few handfuls of marbles will achieve the same effect.
Flush-modifying devices
The Interflush water saving toilet gadget. 
- Interflush (£17.95)
- Mecon Water Saver (£12.50)
How they work
These gadgets modify the flush mechanism so it can be stopped when you wish, rather than always producing a ‘full’ flush.
Performance
Both require a little ‘plumbing’ but nothing too serious. The Interflush only fits cisterns with front-facing handles, and once installed means the flushing action stops when the handle is released. The Mecon can only be fitted to a cistern with a spare hole – a button is mounted here that interrupts the flush when pushed.
Verdict
Both devices can save water, but need to be used properly; savings are therefore variable. The Interflush is the better device here as just releasing the handle will cut the flow, whereas the Mecon requires an additional button push to achieve the same thing.
Water Saving Shower Heads
The Flowpoint HH336 water saving shower head 
- Aqualogic Air 8 Hand Held Shower Head (£32.90)
- Flowpoint HH336(£19.99)
- Flowpoint HH513 Variable Shower Heads (£19.99)
How they work
These eco-conscious bath-time gadgets restrict the flow of water through a shower head to save on the amount of water used.
Performance
Fitting all three devices couldn’t be simpler, just screw off the old shower head and screw on the new one. All three reduced the water flow significantly, but force and spray spread were also reduced.
Verdict
We can’t really see the point of these products. A similar effect could be had by spending less time in the shower and, indeed, you may just find it takes longer to shower properly with these replacement heads, which would negate any water saving in the process.
