Yorkshire Water's 9 easy ways to save water as hosepipe ban looms

Yorkshire Water will introduce a hosepipe ban from August 26

With the announcement of a hosepipe ban from August 26, Yorkshire Water has pulled together some top tips for how families can save water this summer.

In the past few months, Yorkshire has only had two thirds of the rainfall that was predicted.

Therefore Yorkshire Water is looking to encourage customers to be mindful of their water usage, to help families cut down their water and energy bills, as well as helping to keep reservoirs and rivers topped up.

Saving water is important all year round. By reducing the amount of water you use, it can help cut down your water and energy bills, as well as helping to protect the environment by keeping reservoirs and rivers topped up.

During summer months, when there is less rainfall but more water being used for showers, gardens and paddling pools, saving water is even more important. In the last few months, Yorkshire has only had two thirds of the rainfall that was predicted.

To help households reduce their water usage, Yorkshire Water has compiled a list of easy tips and tricks that everyone can try, to help save water around your home.

How to save water in the kitchen:

Be dishwasher savvy - ensure that it is fully loaded with dirty dishes before use, and always opt for the eco setting if your dishwasher has one.

Brew for two - a simple step to save water (and energy!) is to only boil the amount of water required for your brew round. Think twice about how much water you actually need before ending up with too much boiled water for your cup of tea.

Scrape (don’t rinse!) - rinsing dishes is a common culprit for wasting water. Simply scrape away any leftover food, which can then be used for compost bins too. If you do need to soak your pots, pans or plates, do so in a basin instead of running water.

How to save water in the bathroom:

Collect the cold - cold showers are not for everyone and collecting cold water in the shower while waiting for it to heat up is an easy way to reuse water that otherwise would’ve gone to waste.

Use it around the house or garden to water your plants.

Four-minute showers - cutting down on your time spent in the shower - even by a minute - could save on water use.

Yorkshire Water has created a fun shower playlist on Spotify full of four-minute songs, which is a handy way of timing your shower!

How to save water in the garden: