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Water advice

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Saving water at home will help the environment and may help you to reduce your bills if you are using a water meter.

You can only be supplied by your regional water company. You cannot change to another water supplier because the water industry is not deregulated in the same way as the gas and electricity industries. If you are billed on rateable value of your home your charges are fixed and there is no possibility of reducing them but you may be able to save on bills by installing a meter and using less water.

Tips for saving water

There are many ways to save water at home, including the following:

  • Fix dripping taps – they can waste up to 4 litres of water a day.
  • Take showers instead of baths – showers use 2–3 times less water than a bath (except for power showers which can use more water than a bath in less than 5 minutes).
  • Keep a bottle or jug of water in the fridge instead of running tap water until it gets cold (it should be covered and kept no longer than a day).
  • Don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth or shaving; this can waste almost 9 litres a minute.
  • Wash your vegetables in a bowl rather than under running water.
  • Water your garden in the early morning or evening as it will not evaporate so quickly; it is also better to water thoroughly once a week than water lightly but more frequently; avoid using sprinklers; install a water butt to collect rainwater for your garden – it’s better for the garden than tap water.
  • Fit a Hippo device (also known as a Save a Flush) – it can save up to 3 litres of water with every flush. Your water company may be able to supply them free of charge.
  • Don’t use your washing machine or dishwasher on half-load programme – a full load uses less water than two half loads (the average wash uses about 95 litres of water).
  • Use only the minimum water required while boiling water in saucepans or kettles – you will save energy as well as water.
  • Make sure your water pipes are lagged in time for winter – burst water pipes can cause serious damage, as well as wasting water.

Your household plumbing

A little knowledge about plumbing can save you time and money when you are faced with a burst pipe or a leak.

The most important thing to know is where your stop tap (stopcock) is located. If you want to carry out any repairs, it must be turned off. If a cistern or pipe bursts you will need to drain the system by running the cold tap. The stop tap is usually located in the kitchen under the sink. Your stop tap can also seize up quickly from lack of use; it is worth making sure that is working smoothly by turning it from time to time. If the stop tap is stuck or leaking, have it repaired by a plumber.

opens link in new window FS69 Water advice - October 2011 (PDF 163KB) 

opens link in new window IG19 Managing Your Money - September 2011 (PDF 254KB)

opens link in new window IG30 Save Energy, Pay Less - September 2011 (PDF 915KB)

 

Your Age Cymru

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Age UK Advice:
0800 169 6565

Useful information to download

 

 

Help with downloads

Downloads

What is a download?

A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.

What is a PDF?

PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.

Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have got their computer set up).

How do I download a PDF?

Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.

How do I install Adobe Acrobat Reader?

The process is quite straightforward and is free.

  1. Go to opens link in new window http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
  2. Click ‘Download’.
  3. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Run’, then choose this option.
  4. Click ‘Next’.
  5. Click ‘Install’
  6. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Finish’, then choose this option.

How do I change a download?

PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.

How do I print or save a download?

Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.

Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.

Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.

Can my screen reader read PDF downloads?

We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.

You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:

  • Read the document: Shift +Ctrl+Y
  • Read the open page only: Shift +Ctrl+V
  • Read to the end of the document: Shift+Ctrl+B
  • Pause: Shift+Ctrl+C
  • Stop Shift+Ctrl+E


You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:

  • Copy the URL (web address) of the document (right-click on the link and select ‘Save target as’ or ‘Copy link’).
  • Open the Adobe online conversion tool in your browser and paste the URL into the URL box.
  • Tick the HTML box on the Format option and click ‘Convert’.


You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.

 

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