You may have water leaking from your toilet and you don’t realise it. Limescale, cleaning products and grime can build up and stop the parts working properly, causing water to constantly trickle into the toilet bowl. This can waste hundreds of litres of water a day.
The good news is it’s really easy to do something about it.
Firstly you need to know what to look for.
It won’t look like a puddle of water on your bathroom floor, thankfully. Instead, you may spot a small ripple in the water in the toilet bowl. Our quick guide ‘how to identify the problem’ shows you a tried and tested way to check it out.
Why is saving water so important?
Around 250,000 new houses are built in the UK every year, that means another 7.5 million homes by 2050. All these new properties need a clean and reliable supply of fresh water. We do not have an endless supply of water.
The climate crisis means changing weather patterns, hotter summers and drier winters. Water is an increasingly vulnerable natural resource, even in the UK.
We all have to play our part to make sure there’s enough water to go round, for farming, industry, and for our natural environment. That means we need to reduce our individual usage.
Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, the public body responsible for protecting the environment in England says in around 20 years, England will reach the “jaws of death – the point at which, unless we take action to change things, we will not have enough water to supply our needs”. Currently, in England we each use an average of 140 litres of water a day. Sir James is calling for that to decrease to 100 litres.
Truthfully, we know checking inside your toilet is not something you’re rushing to do.
But creating real change is not just about companies designing innovative water saving products, because we know not everyone will have a complete bathroom refit in the next couple of years. To live more sustainably, householders, companies and government, all need to change together to stop wasting water as quickly as possible. Preventing leaks in toilets is a really easy way to make a big impact.
It is estimated one in 20 toilets are clogged up, and if everyone spotted the leaks and maintained their toilets properly it could save nearly 400 million litres of water a day.
You can watch our BMA videos at the end of this page to check your seals and diaphragms at least once a year. Speak to a plumber, local merchant or the product manufacturer if you need advice or replacement parts. They will be happy to help. Water companies will also be keen to help, and many will give you free replacement parts.
Here’s a one example of a water company sharing our campaign – United Utilities.
The #GetLavvySavvy message is also sparking media interest with articles popping up in various magazines and websites.
If you work for an organisation or company, please download our campaign toolkit or get in touch to find out how to get involved. There are lots of social media ideas, infographics, twitter cards, media tips etc. all designed to help people spot water leaks in WCs and discover the simple maintenance steps.
Please get in touch with Lisa Carnwell with any queries.
To help increase awareness of the Get Lavvy Savvy messages
we created a toolkit to help you get involved.
It includes branded materials and ideas which you can share.
We want as many people as possible to learn how to spot and prevent leaks in toilets, so please help spread the word.