Most of us have a vast range of cleaning products in our home, each supposedly formulated to clean one specific item: windows, carpets, cooker tops, sinks, suede, paving – you name it, there are a bunch of products available to clean it.

It’s not only the amount of water we use that matters but what we put into it and how we dispose of it. Our used water (and any chemicals we add to it such as surfactants, bleaches, detergents and phosphates) goes into drains, then to rivers, and onwards into the sea.

Should you use a dishwasher or wash up by hand?

We use a lot of energy washing clothes. You can reduce this by:

• buying a washing machine that is the size you need

• buying an “A” rated washing machine or better (there are now “AA” rated machines as well