Just got our first daily water use info for our water meter

[Motnight]

It's 1180 litres. I am gobsmacked.

3 bedroomed house. 2 of us living here permanently, occasional visits from a 3rd person! Both working mostly at home. Around 10 loads of washing a week, dishwasher used once a day. 2 showers and 1 bath a day (bath is deep). Bath is taken by husband who has a life long illness which leaves him in lots of physical pain, which is helped by a bath.

Is this normal? The useful info provided says that a typical 2 person household should use around 270 metres a day. Do we have a leak or are we just using appalling amounts of water? If the latter, any tips on reducing this? Thankyou.

You need to address the 10 loads of washing a week issue.
That's an awful lot for 2-2.5 people per week.

There are 5 of us and I've just looked at our 6 monthly bill. We use 290l a day on average. Our usage us low as not everyone showers everyday and no-one has baths. But we do put the dishwasher on every day and probably 7/8 loads of washing a week.

You do seem to use a lot of water for 2 people. 7 baths a week will add up and 10 loads of washing is a massive amount.

Do you use tap water for watering plants/the garden? Or hose for car washing? That will up the usage

We averaged between 0.45 & 0.5 cubic metres per day for the last 2 years which is 450-500l per day for a family of 4 plus a dog.

We wash at least 10 loads a week 9kg machine, most days the machine is on twice, kingsize bedding, kids bedding, towels 1-2 loads, whites, 1-2 coloured loads sometimes split into light colours and bright or dark colours, 3 dark loads or so, dog towels and blankets, sofa blankets.
Dishwasher on twice a day on average,
A bath a day (dp and I have a bath every other day or so and shower on the non bath days, kids shower or bath every other day, dog has a shower at least once a week .

I think there's something wrong with your meter/a leak.

@RebeccaManderley

I am confused about all the people saying 10 wash loads is a lot. There are often threads on here saying people change towels daily and change bedding after a few days. How can these people ony do 4 washes per week?

It's a lot for two people.

Even accounting for 3 loads a week being nothing but bedding and towels that leaves one load a day.

In a household of two, mostly working from home, the only way to account for 7 washes a week would be if the machine was on every day with just the previous days clothes/nightwear. Putting a machine on for 2 sets of clothes and two sets of PJs every day is just wasteful.

Every other week I have DD with me and I do 4 loads a week - bedding/towels/lights/darks - none are stuffed full and even if I was to do a separate load for uniform (I don't, dds school wear pale blue shirts so they just go in with the lights and black trousers/skirt which go in the dark wash) then I'd still only get to 5 loads a week ... I don't have enough clothing, towels, bedding and soft furnishings to do 10 washes a week.

I have just registered us for the online account where you can see water usage hour by hour. Yesterday, we used 200 litres before we got up! And 100 litres when we were watching tv with no dishwasher or washing machine on. I honestly think that we are being charged for next door's water. There are 4 tenants next door all keeping different hours.

We may have a leak as well - who knows - but on a day with only one bath and one use of the dishwasher and washing machine we used over 1200 litres.

I will update this thread when I speak to the water company.

@Motnight

I knew that this thread would end up being about washing!

😂

I will add my small load of washing for 5, we do have a large wm that takes 10kg load. So perhaps some people washing a lot more have much smaller a drums in their machine??

@Motnight

I have just registered us for the online account where you can see water usage hour by hour. Yesterday, we used 200 litres before we got up! And 100 litres when we were watching tv with no dishwasher or washing machine on. I honestly think that we are being charged for next door's water. There are 4 tenants next door all keeping different hours.

We may have a leak as well - who knows - but on a day with only one bath and one use of the dishwasher and washing machine we used over 1200 litres.

I will update this thread when I speak to the water company.

Sounds like you might have the usage of next door too! I hope that's the case and it can be rectified.

Sounds like a leak

We are a family of 4. 2 preschoolers so they tend to have a full outfit change daily with food, paint etc on their clothes. DH has 3 rugby kits per week Inc towel and training jumper type things. Plus swimming lessons means extra towels etc. I barely generate any laundry 😂 but we do approx 6 loads per week. Dishwasher again is about 6x per week.
Everything is done on the eco settings though and the DC share a bath still at the moment and we don't bath them every day. We also turn the taps off when we brush teeth and one DC is in nappies.
We use 199 litres per day (got our bill the other day) which I think is quite low and I'm happy with that. We use what we want and aren't constantly worrying.
Make sure you are doing basic things like only washing clothes that need washing, turn taps off when brushing teeth. But I would also check for leaks as it does sound an awful lot!

The water company will tell you to do the checks I linked to earlier before they investigate further, @Motnight, so you might as well do them before you call.

I hope you have separate water/plumbing insurance. If the leak is underground on your property, usually you will be responsible for any repairs. It can cost tens of thousands, especially if the leak is under a drive. Home buildings insurance doesn't usually cover underground leaks caused by wear and tear. If you live in an older property, there is a good chance that the water supply pipes need replacing due to age if there is a leak.

200l before you got up? I’d say that’s more than just paying for next door, as they’d all have to bathe/run dishwasher/put in a wash before you get up!

I think there’s something more than a leak here. Yes 10 loads is a lot, yea dishwasher once a day is a lot, yes deep baths are heinously wasteful (but needs must for you). What offends me most is wastage. It’s one thing using and getting value for the water you use. But wasting water - leaks, careless use etc - does a disservice to the environment and all those who are careful.

200 before you get up is unusual. Are you sure it wasn’t the bath from the night before? That’s how much a deep bath would hold. But a hundred litres when using no water at all, is unusual. Again are you sure that wasn’t your showers, which will use from ten to 20 litres a min depending on its age and then registering later.

@RegardingMary now you’ve mentioned the farm as well it makes so much sense!

A toilet that has what looks like a small amount of water overflowing constantly can leak 400l in 24 hours, @givethatbabyaname. It does sound like there are either several leaks or possibly an underground mains leak. Although I suppose they could be supplying the neighbours and they are the ones with a leaky loo!

@RegardingMary and it dies sound amazing!

How does the app know? Is the water meter a smart meter?

In my last house they came out to put a water meter in but they couldn’t because they couldn’t work out where the water supply for the outside loo was coming from! It could be that, but in reverse.

I don’t get all the people who only run their dishwasher every other day. I run mine daily and it’s always full, two people.

@lilao

If you are doing 10 loads of washing a week and using the dishwasher daily then that is the problem.

FGS it really isn't!

1180l a day has got nothing to do with use of the washing machine. You would need to run a whole bank of washing machines 24/7 to use that much water.

There's a leak.

I don’t get all the people who only run their dishwasher every other day. I run mine daily and it’s always full, two people. it's not so much the fullness, but I wouldn't want dirty stuff sitting in there for several days drying on, if I need to rinse it all that thoroughly it can sit for three days I might as well wash it by hand and I don't have enough plates etc to not wash them daily

@Bunnyfuller

The baths. Daily baths will slaughter your water!

Exactly that… a large booth could easily take 200/250 litres to fill, and a 10 minute shower at 15 litres/minute is another 300 for 2 whoever’s. That’s around half the daily use right there!

If they say typical 2 people is 270

How can a bath easily take 200/250 litres to fill, and a 10 minute shower at 15 litres/minute is another 300 for 2 whoever’s. That’s around half the daily use right there!

That means if both shower at 300 a day that’s over the 270

That’s without washing machine or dw

A full set of Water Energy Calculator questions is included in Appendix B. Each person uses about 142 litres of water each day

Taken from online. So shower at 120 (same source), a few loos and a cup of coffee. No I suppose it balances our against the people who don't shower daily, and can fit an entire week into one load of washing

200 for the bath
2 showers 400
So that’s six hundred. Before she’s done anything else.
50 litres for the washing machine, sometimes 100 as she uses it sometimes twice a day.
Dishwasher is only 15 litres.
Toilet 10 litres per flush, unless it’s an old toilet which is early eighties, then it can be thirty litres.

So say another 100 litres a day on flushing, five times to the loo each all day.

So she’s up to about eight hundred litres a day. Unless it’s an old toilet, then she’s at over a thousand litres a day.

So say 400 litres missing, assuming newer toilet, she’s not supplying next door, she could have a leak.

Bunnyfuller

The baths. Daily baths will slaughter your water!
..............
I always had baths, rinsing off in the shower afterwards. I loved baths! Have been known to have one in the morning before leaving for work and one in the evening, especially if I was going out. My son loved them too, still does. I can't say I noticed the water bill being so high because of it.

This thread has been an eye opener. I'm glad I don't have a water meter, I was always told it was cheaper to have one and have been thinking about having one for a few years.

To check whether you are on a shared water supply- turn off your external stop tap. If your neighbours water goes off you definitely are on a shared supply.

Check for leaks - puddles in the driveway or garden that never dry up even after dry weather; look behind and under your washing machine and dishwasher for damp patches; do you have a garden tap? Is it dripping?; cistern overflows (toilets or header tanks)- those short pipes that stick out of external walls- is water coming out of those?; if you have floorboards rather than a concrete floor on the ground floor- lift one or two and look with a torch to see if the ground below the house is damp.

Good morning everyone. Thank you for all the new messages and suggestions. The Water Company have told me that there is definitely a leak as water is being used every hour. They are going to send an engineer out to look for the leak (they think that it is probably external) and also to check the possibility of it being a shared supply.

There are no obvious signs of a leak internally at all. Externally we also can't see signs of a leak in either our front or back garden.

I have read all the messages about using the washing machine and dishwasher so much. I am in awe of people who only use their washing machine a few times a week. Our bed linen takes up 4 loads and our towels 2. I am off now to check our insurance!