Water Meters- Should We All Have One?

I’m so pleased I’ve been told today that we can have a water meter fitted, contrary to former information.
I’ve been told I’ll save approximately £459 per year. Of course I’m delighted, but when I asked Derek from United utilities, what impact all the people paying less would have on the money needed to run the water company, he said, “Eventually, we’ll just charge more for what you use on your meter.”

Never have a strip wash, occasionally wash oxters using a clean facecloth then put it in the wash basket. Just as quick having a shower if more than that is needed.

Do people who strip wash today use the same cloth for the whole body? Do they wash the cloths after each use?

I’m fascinated by the idea of a strip wash. When I was little, my Nan had one with 3 different cloths every afternoon face and neck /pits and bosom/bits and feet before my Granddad came home from work. She would then wash and rinse the cloths and hang them up to dry.
It was like a keep fit routine. By the time she’d changed the water for each area and washed the cloths she could probably have had a quick shower for the same amount of water. When she was older and living with us , that’s just what she did.

I'm still trying to work out what difference it makes to the skin between having a shower or bath and having a Good strip wash on other days. Surely if you're thoroughly washing the whole body it matters not one jot whether you do it under the shower or using soap and flannels at a basin?

Well yes, Normandygirl, we're paying for the treatment and delivery and disposal of water. So if we waste water, we're wasting the resources needed to carry more of this out. I can't really do a lot about the behaviour of the water companies, but I can change my own.

All waste water goes back into the system , so I don't understand this idea that you shouldn't "waste" water. You are not paying for the water, you are paying for the treatment and delivery of it. If there is a shortage in the UK, the blame lies with the Utility companies who put profit before infrastructure and blame the customer every time we have a hot summer.

A shower every day in the hot weather, using Aveeno body wash which is so gentle on the skin..makes my skin feel like we’ve got a water softener even though it’s very hard water. A shower every couple of days or so, when it’s not hot weather. Very much depends on my level of activity!

Baggytrazzas

BigBertha1 there may be legislation is some areas of the UK for all new houses to have a water meter installed but not all areas are included. In some areas there is no need for this additional expenditure.

This - we should have more reservoirs, salutation plants for every water utility company and a network of water availability, as in electricity and gas. We do not have a water shortage in the UK, we just lack the ability to share the water that we do have. Where members of my family live, you should build your own Ark they have that much water. We should not be having to watch every drop of water we use when we live on an Island surrounded by the stuff whilst utility companies are taking in the money and doing nothing with it. I live in an area whose utility company is the worst in the country for fixing leaks. I do not have a water meter and will not have one until I can see the utility companies doing all they can.

Agreed. If compulsive washing gets on the way if someone’s life I would say it was ‘too much’, but otherwise it’s like asking how long is a piece of string.

I bath most nights and shower in the morning if I am going somewhere-always before work or using public transport. Otherwise the bath is enough. If someone else thinks that’s too much or not enough then so be it.

Mollygo Apart from saving water, what do posters think constitutes “too much showering”?

Ideally, everyone should be able to bath or shower as often as they want to, or as often as is necessary if that is more often than they want to!

Information I found when Googling:

It depends on where you live. It also depends on your skin type and the water type.

If you stay in a cold region which doesn’t let you sweat a lot or if you don’t go out much often and stay indoors then once a day is fine. Another thing to note here is that if the water which you get is hard water and if you’re skin type is too dry then better to bath once in two days (only if you don’t sweat)

For people living in cities who travel in traffic pollution or hit the gym or sweat a lot better to shower twice a day. One in the morning after waking up and another after the workout or returning from work before sleep.

This needn’t include perfumed shower products-sometimes a quick shower with just water is enough.

Think medical advice is to shower two or three times a week at most. Good strip wash on other days.

It is in a similar vein that our clothes MUST be washed after one wearing. Not necessary, particularly with outer clothing.

However, I do have to say that no matter how careful we are about domestic water, until the privatised water company really use some of the obscene money that they pay to the CEO's for repairing the infrastructure and preventing the vast amount of water leaked, we will continue having water supply problems.

MerylStreep

Too much showering strips the skin of good bacteria which keeps the germs at bay.

There’s always a post saying that.

But OMG I’ve just spent a fortnight at 34° to 38°in France. We were in and out of the pool most of the day, if we were not visiting places or at night to cool off when we got back. My ‘good’ bacteria must have drowned and I’m now prey to all lurking germs. ?

What a choice we had to make!
In the interests of well-being;
-Rinsing off the night’s sweat or coating our bodies with deodorant to mask the smell from stale sweat.
(If that’s what some people we encountered were doing, they need to know it doesn’t work!)

-Rinsing off the day’s sweat or encouraging any ‘bad’ bacteria I picked up during the heat to fester making my bedding exceedingly unpleasant.

What do other posters think would be the best option?

Also, in years gone by, during the monsoon season, should we have been worried about the constant downpours stripping our bodies of good bacteria and leaching them into our clothes?
Whilst in Papua New Guinea, so many ‘good’ bacteria must have been washed off whilst making life bearable it’s a wonder we’re still alive.

Apart from saving water, what do posters think constitutes “too much showering”?

For 25 years we lived in a house which had a shared supply with the cottage next door. This meant we could not have a water meter. The only way around it would have been diverting the water supply which would have meant digging up our garden for several metres. A very expensive option and not one we felt we should embark upon. We've moved now to a new build with our very own water meter. I am very happy with our reduced bills.

This is a very interesting subject. I don't claim to know the first thing about water issues in the UK, or, separately, Welsh, Scottish, or English water issues, and nowt about Northern Irish water. However, when we visited the Irish Republic, I was absolutely agog at the water flow in the bathrooms. The first time I used an Irish toilet, I grabbed for the towel bar as I thought I was going to be a sucked away into the River Liffey. Never in any of my travels have I seen water flow like that. Of course, a lot of my experience has been had in the US vis-à-vis toilets that have been ratcheted down to mere trickles, thanks to our over-enthusiastic EPA. I actually called my husband in to witness what I had seen and again flushed the toilet for his edification. Truly inspiring! I would guess that these toilets actually save water over American toilets because we very frequently have to reflush more than once to get the job done. Up the Irish!

Too much showering strips the skin of good bacteria which keeps the germs at bay.

If I’m supporting all those who can’t afford their water, by paying water rates, not having a meter (because the water board says they can’t fit them on our road) then I’m glad to help. I suspect my additional payments go nowhere near making up the deficit caused by those who pay less via a meter.
I’m not profligate with water even without a meter, but in this weather, even having a meter wouldn’t stop me having a clean comfortable body, possibly by having a morning and evening shower. Health and well-being are important.

I'm so glad we opted for a meter when we moved here nearly 20 years ago. We had one at our previous house and even as a family of four we saved money, mainly because I'm careful with how much I use. Having lived here alone for about 10 years I'll have saved even more.

My DD moved home to live with me last Christmas and my water use has approximately doubled as a result. However despite having a meter I've received 2 estimated bills as Thames water claimed to have been unable to come and read it. I read it myself and requested a revised bill. As expected it was almost double the estimated one but as half of it was at the increased price (calculated proportionately by number of days) I'll have saved a fortune as if I'd waited for them to read it next time all the extra would have been at the higher price. So glad I checked! I have no problem paying double if we've used twice as much as there are 2 of us to share the bill!

I do wonder why they failed to read it twice in succession. With electricity meters and gas meters I think there is a legal requirement to read the meter once a year so sending 2 successive estimates for a 6 monthly bill is unacceptable. It's not as if they need me to be at home as the meter is in a hole in the pavement outside" At least I don't have the problem of estimated bill for gas and electricity as I had to get a smart meter to qualify for the best rate last time I switched!

I have had once for a long time, I am an environmentalist and apparently a very low water user and I get a discount for being one.

Happysexagenarian you are the only one that seems to get it, thanks!

Baggytrazzas
Quote: "Yes, but if you only had the one toilet, and your family staying, the number of flushes would be the same, just the queues would be longer!!"

The queues would be interminable and hilarious, the thought of all those crossed legs or GDs rushing down to the public loo in the village in their pyjamas!!

You're quite right of course about the number of flushes. I think my brain is suffering from heatstroke

I live alone in a large two bedroom flat and pay the full charge, as my landlord (a property company) is not happy about a water meter installation. Presumably it might put off families taking on one of these flats in future? Reading Doodlebug’s post, I am seeing it in a new light now! Perhaps my £40 per month is better spent than I thought (hopefully). And I try not to think of the HUGE salaries and bonuses (for what? Number of leaks?!) paid to the CEOs and board members of these water companies.

crazygranny

As I live alone I would love one, but many years ago an employee of Thames Water inspected and declared my home unmeterable so I'm stuck.

Please see my post of 12th August 10:56:11.

It explains how you can get an estimated usage if you can’t have a meter, and often can save you money.

Had one for twenty years and believe everyone should have one. We all have to make choices these days…waters just the latest!