A quarter of Brits (24%)have admitted they have no idea how much water they use, according to a new study commissioned by the Water Regulation Advisory Scheme (WRAS).

The average UK household uses 350 litres per day, but people estimate their family uses just 157 litres - an underestimation of 55%.

The survey, found that when it comes to bad water habits:

• 10% wash their car with a hose pipe rather than a bucket
• Washing machines are one of the biggest culprits of water usage, using approximately 50 litres per wash with older machines using even more than this. Over 80% underestimated this amount, assuming 18 litres per load, on average.
• When it comes to the bathroom, the average time Brits spend in the shower is seven minutes 30 seconds, which could use up to 90 litres of water. The average time the tap is left running whilst brushing teeth is 54 seconds, which could be wasting nearly 12 litres of water in the process.

Julie Spinks, managing director of WRAS, said:

“Although more than half(53%) of UK homes now have a water meter, research shows that people are still not giving a huge amount of thought to their water usage at home, even if it could save them money and help the environment. There is still a long way to go in convincing most households to be more conscious of their water consumption.

“Many water companies give away water efficiency products to customers for free, yet 47% don’t have any kind of water saving device at home. Products such as toilet leak detection strips, shower timers and cistern displacement devices can save litres of valuable water, and WRAS supports the use of compliant plumbing products that use technology to automatically reduce water and energy consumption, without people even noticing a difference.”