Fill dishwashers to save water, money and energy at home

24 October 2024 10:12

NI Water is calling on its customers who use dishwashers to only run them when they are full to reduce the amount of water they use and to save energy and money.

The call comes after the first ever Continuous Household Survey (CHS) in relation to Household Water Usage, which showed 58% of households own a dishwasher, 16% of households use their dishwasher every day and almost one third (29%) use them several times per week. Meanwhile 5% use only them once a week and 7% use them less than once a week.

NI Water say the survey results show how important water efficiency behaviours can be improved in every home to help conserve water and save money, and by doing so everybody can help the planet in general by saving energy that is needed to clean the water.

NI Water Education Officer Anna Killen said: “We get plenty of rain in Northern Ireland but this rainwater has to be cleaned at our treatment works before it goes into the taps. NI Water cleans 605 million litres of water a day. It’s an expensive process to clean and transport the water we use daily and the water treatment also uses huge volumes of electricity and water. So the less water we waste the more cost effective the system is.

“There are many things we can all do at home to help conserve water and energy including thinking about the way we are cleaning our dishes, whether you are doing the dishes by hand or letting the dishwasher take care of things. And what’s more, according to the Energy Saving Trust by saving water by reducing your dishwasher use by one run per week this could save you £18 in NI.

“Handwashing dishes uses more water and energy than loading the dishwasher, and it can cost more if you waste heated water by not using a bowl or pre-soaking.

“Households can waste millions of pounds and billions of gallons of water a year by unnecessarily washing dishes before loading them into the dishwasher and not waiting until the dishwasher is full to switch them on.

“Unlike hand washing your dishes, dishwashers don’t fill sinks with water and they only take in water at certain times, then recirculate it which means they are a lot more effective and use a lot less water.

“If using a dishwasher you can save water, energy and money by considering the energy efficiency. Always set it to an eco setting, wait until it’s full before you switch it on and avoid wasting water by pre-soaking dishes.”

Anna’s top tips to save water, money and energy when washing dishes:

• Handwashing dishes: save pre-heated water by using a bowl and pre-soaking
• Dishwashers: always use an eco setting, use full loads and don’t rinse dishes before using the dishwasher
• Scrape don’t rinse: Instead of pre-rinsing dishes under running water, scrape off excess food scraps into the compost or trash. This simple step can save gallons of water per wash
• Reduce your dishwasher run once a week: with the cost of living and trying to save on household bills, the Energy Savings Trust says this one small change could save you £18 in NI
• Turn off the tap: don’t leave taps running longer than necessary - a running tap, including outdoor taps, can use 6 litres of water per minute
• Get Water Fit – NI Water offers an online ‘Get Water Fit’ water audit to help household find out more about how and where they use water and it also suggests some easy ways to help make savings. Go to https://www.getwaterfit.co.uk to find out more.

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Notes to editors:

• The Household Water Usage factsheet 2023/24 was published on Wednesday 2nd October 2024. It is a publication produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and presents findings from the 2023/24 Continuous Household Survey (CHS). The publication is available on the new Water Usage Research webpage 
• The information presented in this publication derives from the 2023/24 the Continuous Household Survey (CHS) in relation to Household Water Usage. The CHS is considered to be a representative sample of the population at household level.
• A total of 4,927 adults aged 16 and over were surveyed in 2023-24.
• The report provides annual statistics on the use of water by individuals and households including use of showers, dishwashers, washing machines and hosepipes.

Media enquiries to the NI Water Press Office via email to press.office@niwater.com