Climate action at home

In London, the majority of a person’s daily water consumption is used for bathing. Of the water used, almost half is heated.

Heating water for bathing requires a lot of natural gas and can account for approximately 25% of the energy consumed in your home. A five-minute shower with a standard showerhead uses 100 litres of water.  The same length of shower with an ultra low-flow showerhead uses only 35 litres of water.

How you can lower your water and energy use:

• Reduce your shower time
• Install a high efficiency showerhead​​​​​​ with a WaterSense label

Hot water recirculation units

If you find yourself running the tap for more than 30 seconds while waiting for hot water, you may want to install a hot water recirculation unit to help save money on your water bill and limit wasted water. A hot water recirculation unit works by circulating water through the pipes so that room temperature water can return to be reheated, rather than go down the drain. When you want hot water, it's there instantly.  As every property is unique, please contact a professional for more information on whether this system can help you save money and water in your home.

There are many ways to save water through your home's toilet. including reducing the number of times you flush per day, finding and repairing any leaks you have and retrofitting your home and toilets to be more water efficient.

20% of an average Londoner’s daily water use is flushed down the toilet. One toilet flush can use up to 18 litres of water. Ultra-low flush toilets can use up to 12 litres less water per flush while maintaining the same flushing power.

How you can lower your water and energy use:

• Install a low-flow toilet WaterSense label.
• Avoid unnecessary flushing.
• Never flush wipes down the toilet. Even if a product states it is “flushable”, these items do not readily decompose in the sewers and lead to major problems in wastewater pumping stations and treatment plants. They can even negatively impact your home's plumbing.
• Check for any leaks in your toilet by adding food colouring to your water tank and waiting 15-30 minutes to see if the colour spreads to the bowl without flushing. If there is any colour in the bowl, then you have a leak, and your toilet needs to be repaired.
• Check your toilets for worn out, corroded or bent parts. 
• Replace or adjust the toilet flush handle if it is sticking regularly as this causes water to flow constantly.
• For toilets larger than 6 litres, place a water-filled plastic bottle or commercial toilet insert into the tank. This reduces the volume of water needed to fill the tank, but still provides enough for flushing.

A traditional washing machine uses approximately 190 litres of water to wash a large load. A high efficiency washing machine can save you up to 100 lites of water per large load of laundry.

How you can lower your water and energy use:

• If you can, wear your clothes more than once to avoid unnessesary loads of laundry.
• Select the correct load sizes and cycles on your machine when doing laundry.
• Wash full loads of laundry to save money, water, energy and detergent.
• When buying new washing machine, consider purchasing a front-loading model.  These machines use less water, reduce energy costs, require less soap and are gentler on your clothes. If you can't select a top-load washer, choose one that is high efficiency. 
• Wash in cold water to save money and conserve hot water for other uses. Washing in cold water also reduces damage to clothes.
• Check for and repair any leaks around the washing machine taps and hoses.
• Use environmentally friendly detergents that have no phosphate and are biodegradable.

While preparing dinner or doing dishes, look for ways your family can reduce its water use in the kitchen. 

How you can lower your water and energy use:

• Soak your pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.
• Keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator to reduce the wasteful habit of running tap water to cool it before drinking.
• Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods.  Instead, defrost foods overnight in your refrigerator or use the microwave’s defrost settings.
• Save water from cooking vegetables and use it for soups and gravies or use it to give your houseplants a drink once the water is cool.
• Boil vegetables using just enough water to cover them.  Steaming vegetables not only uses less water, it conserves more nutrients.
• Install an instant water heater in your kitchen so you don't have to run water for it to heat up. This also can reduce heating costs in your home.​​​​​
• Collect fats, oils, and grease (FOG) in a cup and keep it from going down the drain. FOG can block London's sewer system when it's poured down your sink or into your toilet.  When FOG hardens, you could end up flooding your basement. Free FOG Cups can be picked up at City of London EnviroDepots and at London Public Library locations. 

The way in which you water your lawn is just as important as how often and how much water you use.  It is important to choose the right irrigation system for the landscape.

How you can lower your water and energy use:

• The best time to water your lawn or garden is the early morning.  Avoid watering in the late evening which can cause long periods of dampness increasing the risk of disease and fungus. 
• Be mindful of municipal water alerts. Lawn and garden watering may be limited to certain dates to conserve water during the warmer months.
• Rain barrels are an excellent way to conserve water and save money on your water bills. They collect rain water that can be used for your lawn and garden.
• Avoid using a lawn sprinkler.  If you must use a sprinkler, install a water efficient component such as a low-rise sprinkler head, soaker hoses, or a drip irrigation system and use a timer.  Make sure you are not watering sidewalks and driveways.
• Purchase a rain gauge to determine how much rain or irrigation your yard has already received each week.
• Water your plants deeply but less frequently to create healthier and stronger landscapes.
• Adjust your lawn watering schedule and method so that it is specific to your lawn’s soil condition.
• Avoid overwatering.  Watering your lawn too much and too often will cause shorter root systems to develop making it susceptible to dry conditions.  Overwatering indicators include yellowing or lighter green leaves, or algae and fungi growth. One inch of water per week is enough.
• When selecting plants and grass to reseed your landscape, consider drought-resistant grasses and plants. Group plants with the same watering needs together to get the most out of your watering time.​​​​​​
• Outfit your hose with a shut-off nozzle which can adjust the water flow rate.
• Eliminate hose and tap leaks by using hose washers between the spigot and the water hose.

Going away for a trip or vacation? Set your water heater to vacation mode or lower the temperature a few degrees.

Turning off the main water supply to your home is also the best defense against flooding caused by a burst pipe or other plumbing failure.

First, locate the main water supply valve in your home. The valve should have a wheel control or lever handle to open and close it. It is perfectly safe to turn it off by either turning the wheel clockwise or closing the lever. If you don’t know where to locate the valve, you may find it in the basement, in the crawl space, or outside your home.