Top tips to make your washroom more water-efficient

Water scarcity is a very real problem here in the UK. Yes, we get a lot of rain, but we’re also using far too much water. So much so that if we continue at this rate of water use, we are just a decade away from demand exceeding supply. And by 2050 there may be days when our taps run dry. 

Meanwhile, water bills are looking likely to increase sharply in the near future, leading many businesses to look for ways to protect themselves against the rising cost. 

So whether water consumption is about creating the most sustainable washroom environment for your building, or simply controlling costs, there are several simple steps businesses can take to ensure water usage in washrooms is as efficient as possible. 

Here are Simply’s top tips for making your washroom more water-efficient:

1. Be informative

Your washroom users play an important role in levels of water usage, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t make them aware of it! Simple, well-placed messaging and signs can prompt and remind users to be mindful of how they use water.

One running tap uses around 6 litres per minute, so encouraging people to remember to turn taps off can have a big impact. If you have dual toilet flush buttons, a message reminding people to use the correct flush button can halve the amount of water used in each flush

 

2. Repair leaky taps

We lose an estimated 3.17 billion litres of water every day due to leaks. That’s the equivalent of 1,268 Olympic swimming pools. Keeping an eye on the state of washroom taps, and getting any leaks fixed can save a huge amount of water and money

 

3. Install flush control technology 

Urinals can account for up to 20% of water usage in offices. Legally there should be a maximum water usage of 7.5 litres per urinal bowl per hour and a device should be fitted to prevent the urinals flushing when the building is unoccupied. However, in practice, flush rates are often adjusted, in an attempt to reduce odour or blockages, and flushing can continue for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

For some offices and buildings, this may mean that 76% of flushing occurs when the building is unoccupied. Urinals therefore often flush regardless of use, wasting a lot of water, especially out of hours. All of this can be avoided by installing a water management device – a small system which reduces the amount of times a urinal flushes.

 

4. Fix constantly running toilets

A constantly running toilet can use over 100 gallons of water per hour (2,400 gallons over the course of one day). Not only does this exacerbate water scarcity issues, but it also increases water bills.

Toilets need regular leak-checks to ensure they’re running properly and you might also want to consider installing water-efficient components, such as dual-flush systems to minimise water use.

 

For more information about our water management products or to request a washroom water audit, drop us a line at: info@simplywashrooms.com