NI Water has reminded customers about their washing machine use following the recent findings of the Continuous Household Survey (CHS).

Customers are encouraged to only wash full loads of washing in their machine, which in turn will be beneficial for the environment as well as for saving money.

According to the CHS, 99% of households have a washing machine and more than one in four (22%) use these every day.

"It's amazing to think that on an average day, each person uses around 170 litres of water, yet only 4% is actually used for drinking," said NI Water Education Officer Anna Killen.

"It's important to create habits that will help us to reduce the water we are using in other ways, including washing our clothes.

"Clothes washing equates to a whopping 13% of our daily water usage. Washing machines use approximately 60 litres per cycle but there are some small and simple changes we can all make to ensure we are making full use of washing machines and being more water efficient," she continued.

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"As we look ahead to the winter months when we will be using more energy in our homes, changing how often and the ways you use your washing machine will help you save both energy and money.

"According to the Energy Savings Trust you can save around £36 in NI a year on your energy bill by making small changes in how you use your washing machine, including washing at 30 degrees and reducing your washing machine use by one run per week for a year."

Anna has provided useful tips for customers to follow, in order to help them save both money and water when using washing machines.

These include: Only wash full loads as half load programmes on washing machines use more than half the water and energy of a full load; Only wash your clothes when you need to and not everyday if not required; Reduce washing machine run once a week and use 30-degree cycles instead of higher temperatures; Reuse cooled tumble drier water to water plants, the soap residue in the water will help keep bugs away as an added bonus.

NI Water offers an online Get Water Fit water audit to help households find out more about how and where they use water and it also suggests some easy ways to help make savings.

Go to www.getwaterfit.co.uk to find out more.