Bath time with my toddler is probably my favourite time of the day — getting her ready to unwind for the night, seeing her splash around the water and knowing that in a few minutes she’ll be fast asleep so I can have the evening to myself.
But with water bills in England and Wales increasing by £28 a year, bath times often have to be quick. Some might be struggling to keep up with the extra payment if they’ve been effected by it.
However, one thrifty mum has some tricks that could help you save money during bath time with the kids.
Mum-of-two Emma Stretton, from Manchester, often shares her hacks on her Instagram account @emma.wear.it.all — but today, in partnership with Victorian Plumbing she’s advising readers how they can reduce their water usage.
Set a 4-minute shower timer
On average, we use 12 litres of water per minute we are showering, this means that a long shower can lead to over 120 wasted litres of water.
For kids that are old enough to take a shower, Emma recommends setting a timer for 4 minutes to reduce the amount of water used:
“When my children are showering I will set a timer on Alexa for four minutes, and when the timer goes off they have to turn the shower off. Sometimes I do the same but with a song, they can have a little dance and a wash whilst it plays and then when the song ends it’s time to turn the shower off,” she says.
Plug your bath whilst showering
Getting in the bath is a fun time for children as they can splash around and play with their toys. However, as baths require a lot of water this can cause wastage.
Emma suggests saving shower water and letting your kids play in the collected water: “One of my children’s favourite things to do is play in the bath, but whilst we try to reduce water costs I have had to find an alternative. This is where the idea of “shower baths” came from.
“When having our 4-minute shower, I will plug the bath so that the water collects, at the end of the shower when the kids are clean they can mess about in the water that’s filled the bath.”
Sharing baths
Young children can often easily fit in the bath together, this can be great to safe money.
Emma advises: “Sharing baths is a great option if your children prefer baths over showers. I have two boys who are still sharing baths and love the time playing together. This is best for kids under 12 but mine are only 6 and 10 so will still share a bath and love it!
“When my kids get older and stop wanting to share a bath, or just can’t both fit, I think I will still try to get them to share the bath water and just put one in after the other. Giving the bath a quick top-up of hot water to keep it nice and warm.”
Share bathroom towels
Even the water and electricity used when running washing machines quickly add up. Emma says that sharing a towel could actually save money on electricity.
“With two young children in the house I am constantly putting on loads of washing. One way I try to reduce this is by letting my boys share a towel. I know some might think it’s gross but wiping off excess water before drying means the towel isn’t too wet after use and my boys don’t notice a difference. After all, we’re clean after the bath or shower so it’s not an unhygienic option.”
Brenna Ryan, bathroom expert at Victorian Plumbing commented on Emma’s hacks:
“Emma’s thrifty tips go to show that even making small changes to your family’s bath time routine can make a big difference when it comes to water bills. And they don’t have to be boring either!”
“One of the tips I really liked was getting your kids to share a bath if they’re the right age. Most of our bathtubs can easily sit two small children, which is a great fun way for your children to play while saving a bit of money on your water bill too.”