Having applied all the usual water saving strategies, our household consumption was low. But I found we reduced it considerably more on replacing the bathroom taps. The old traditional screw down ones finally wore out so I replaced them with individual 1/4 turn ceramic disc taps with small levers. These could easily be tapped on and off with the hack of the hand, consequently the running tap while washing your hands or cleaning ones teeth became a thing of the past. New habit and huge water savings!!

Sadly in the new house I was seduced by fashion - so many sinks only come with one tap hole - and ended up with a monoblock tap in the bathroom. There was also the suggestion that it would be nice to mix our new and consistently hot DHW to the warmth of choice out the tap. Immediately I notice we are using more water, you can't easily nudge it on and off so despite wanting to interrupt the flow I end up leaving it running. There is also the need to run off any hot water left in the neck when you want cold and vica versa, more wasted water and all those little amounts add up. As for blending water temp I am habituated to washing my hands in cold water anyway (after years of a boiler that took 5mins to supply hot water).

I am left wondering how much water we could save as a nation if the monoblock mixer tap was banned? Apart from the cost of embodied energy, and the changes to the countertop, I am seriously considering replacing both sink and tap with a two tap version.

Let's see if I can clarify. On the monoblock mixers I have seen on/off is up/down while hot/cold is left/right with the lever. Left/right is smooth and easy to control without holding the lever, but up/down is not. Perhaps it is just me, but I have tried several taps and I just don't seem to be able to use a gentle nudge to control the flow, and up/down does not seem to be a smooth 1/4 turn in the way that left/right is.

On a positive note I would encourage people to replace traditional screw taps with 1/4 turn lever designs, and learn not to wastefully run the tap while hand washing. I was stunned by the difference it made to our water use.

Posted By: GreenfishLet's see if I can clarify. On the monoblock mixers I have seen on/off is up/down while hot/cold is left/right with the lever. Left/right is smooth and easy to control without holding the lever, but up/down is not. Perhaps it is just me, but I have tried several taps and I just don't seem to be able to use a gentle nudge to control the flow, and up/down does not seem to be a smooth 1/4 turn in the way that left/right is.

I agree with your description and the relative difficulty of controlling such a tap. I think what gareth was describing was a tap with a single mixer spout but with two separate taps for hot and cold. I've been unable to find a definition for what a 'monobloc' tap is, so I can't say whether such a device is or is not a monobloc. They are definitely easier to control, but they don't attempt to provide independent control of flowrate and temperature.

On a positive note I would encourage people to replace traditional screw taps with 1/4 turn lever designs, and learn not to wastefully run the tap while hand washing. I was stunned by the difference it made to our water use.

I'm very interested by this, because I hadn't realized the significance of the tap type to water usage.

Posted By: CerisyAs we move closer to the decisions on sanitary fittings it is something I have been pondering (so thanks for the reminder / advice!). We have mixer taps on our mains fed system (no header tanks here in France) and we waste loads on running the kitchen taps to get rid of the warm water to give us cold water for drinking. I'm struggling to get the OH to agree to single taps but see it as a major water saving opportunity. Not so sure in the bathroom - our quarter turn taps work pretty well for how we use the basin and single taps amy be a step too far. I'll concentrate on the kitchen and utility room!!

SWMBO unfortunately has a friend with an RO system for drinking water. So we'll be having one too, with a separate tap connected to it. We previously had a separate drinking tap because we had an aftermarket filtration system.

But if you must have a mixer then go for a dual-flow mixer rather than a single-flow and then you won't have to run off anything.

Many years ago I worked for an Architects practice in Eastbourne and one of their posh clients wouldn't have one of those modern mixer taps as he kept getting warm water in his whisky! Bless!

Nowadays I expect he would have a Zip tap or similar to deliver chilled water, as well as a fancy fridge with ice through the door

Most traditional screw down modern taps an be converted to 1/4 turn with new inserts, not suitable for very old taps though. They even sort out dripping taps very easily, cheaply and quickly.

Posted By: Jeff BSame applies to shower mixer valves. We now have the thermostatic bar type with lever action handles. So easy to turn off whilst soaping or applying shampoo after wetting the skin/hair, rather than letting the water flow continuously as we used to do. Must be saving a considerable amount of water now I guess.

But if you have a hot and a cold lever, you still have to find the same (or at least an acceptable) position again when you turn them back on again. A digital mixer really does make it easy to turn the water off during the shower, to the extent that I actually did it!

Posted By: SteamyTeaI have a single lever shower and bath tap, no thermostatic control. You get to learn where the 'right' position is pretty quick.

As long as somebody else in the house doesn't decide to do the washing up whilst you're having a shower!