Recent reports revealed that the average household water bill in the UK has gone up 64% in just ten years.
The rises are mainly due to the increasing costs of collecting the water in the first place, storing and cleaning it up, and processing it through the sewer system.
The picture varies between the different water companies, but you can expect to pay £100 to £200 every year for your water.
There are however some easy things which you can do to reduce the cost, including replacing your old toilet cistern with a less water-hungry one.
Just how much is your toilet cistern costing you?
If you live in a modern property which has been built in the last 20 years or so, your home will have been built with a low-flush toilet which uses, on average, around 6 litres of water every time you flush it at a cost of around 2p per flush.
Over time toilets have become much more efficient, with toilets being made in the 1980s using 13 litres per flush, and some of the oldest toilets made in the 1950s or before used as much as 25 litres per flush.
The difference between 2p a flush and 8p doesn’t seem much, but over the year you could save huge sums if you are on a water meter by switching to a more economic system.
Replace the whole toilet or just the cistern?
It is perfectly possible just to replace the cistern of your toilet – the bit which provides a reservoir for the water and fills up again every time you flush it.
A brand new, efficient cistern will cost you around £50 to buy from a builder’s merchants or plumbing store. Fitting it can be the tricky bit though as plumbing fittings over time change, and a modern cistern may be incompatible with 60 year old pipes and connectors.
It’s always wise to get advice from your plumber as to what the best option is for you.
If you decide that it’s easier to just replace the whole toilet, you’ll find that you can buy a whole new toilet for the same price as the cistern on its own.
It’s probably best to replace the whole thing, unless you have a particular reason for wanting to keep parts of your toilet.
Costs for replacing the toilet or cistern
A plumber is likely to quote you the same price for replacing the cistern as for installing a whole new toilet.
The average cost is around £250 which involves removing the old toilet or cistern and disposing of it, then fitting the new one and connecting it all up correctly. It may sound a lot, but remember that you’ll be saving on your water bills every time you flush.
A 6p saving per flush really mounts up over the course of the year and your new toilet will soon pay for itself.
Always follow the golden rule of getting at least three quotes from local plumbers to compare prices, and also that the cheapest price isn’t always the best value for money.
