Hot days? Save Water
On hot days, we all use millions of extra liters of drinking water. This is for watering the garden, filling pools, and taking an extra shower. If this continues for days on end, our daily supply can quickly run out, and less water comes out of the tap. That's why we urge you to be extra frugal with water on hot days.
Saving water in hot weather
The average Dutch person normally consumes 120 liters of drinking water per day. In the summer, on hot days, that can sometimes increase to 150 liters. We only use a few liters of that for drinking. And you should definitely keep drinking, because tap water is and remains the best thirst quencher. Drinking water could be reduced in other areas, however. The tips below will help you easily save water.
- Shower a minute shorter
We get it: a nice refreshing shower is a breath of fresh air, especially in hot weather. But on average, we shower for over 8 minutes and use 70 liters of drinking water. That could be (much) shorter! Every minute saved saves almost 2,200 liters per year.
- Spray smart
If you water in the middle of the day, almost all the water evaporates immediately. The best time to water is therefore very early in the morning.
(before 7 a.m.) or in the evening (after 10 p.m.), so the water has time to soak in. A little dryness isn't a bad thing for many plants, by the way. It stimulates root growth.
- Avoid rush hour
On hot days, the water rush hour is between 7:00 and 9:00 AM and between 6:00 and 10:00 PM. Because a lot of water is demanded at once, water pressure can drop. Therefore, take short showers and postpone less important tasks, such as washing your car, watering your home, and using the washing machine and dishwasher.
- Do not let the water run off
If you fill a garden pool (or bathtub) with tap water, don't just let it drain. You can easily reuse that water to water your garden plants.
- Use a rain barrel in summer too
Rainwater is free and perfect for watering plants or cleaning your car. And did you know you can also use it to clean your windows? It rains less frequently in the summer, but heavy downpours can still occur, which can refill your rain barrel. So make it easy on yourself and get a rain barrel.
- Use the flush interrupter on the toilet
A third of Dutch people never use the toilet flush interrupter. A shame, because that would save you half the amount.
- Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth
When you brush your teeth for two minutes with the tap open, you flush more than 2 liters of water down the sink.
- Replace leaking and dripping faucets
A leaky faucet can waste thousands of liters of water a year. That's a significant waste of water! You can save a lot of water by replacing old faucets.
- Choose the car wash
Happy with a sparkling clean car? At home, a car wash uses an average of 75 liters of water. In a
In a water-saving car wash, that's only 15 liters. Moreover, they often collect detergent residue, oil, and dirt, preventing it from ending up in the environment.
As a water company, we supply approximately 140% of the usual amount on hot days. And that's understandable. We're all taking refreshing showers more often, watering the garden more, and letting children play in a pool filled with tap water. And because we often do all of this simultaneously at certain peak times (between 7 and 9 a.m. and between 6 and 10 p.m.), this can lead to lower water pressure.
