The free gadget that tells you if your Cornwall loo is leaking

A leak you can’t see or hear can still cost you hundreds of pounds a year if you’re on a water meter. Most people only find out when the bill lands. South West Water is trying to catch that problem earlier, with a batch of free gadgets posted straight to your door.

What’s on offer

The devices are part of South West Water’s ongoing push to help metered customers cut consumption, and every one of them is free to order. The range includes:

• Shower Regulator – fits to the base of your shower hose and holds the flow at a constant eight litres of water per minute.
• LeakyLoo Detection Strips – a biodegradable, water-soluble strip that sticks inside your toilet and changes if it detects a leak.
• Flowpoint Shower Head – for a mains-fed shower (not electric or digital models), cutting the flow from a standard 12 litres a minute down to seven. South West Water says that can save more than 40 per cent of the water a normal shower uses.
• Twin Tap Inserts – fit taps with an unscrewable top and bring the flow down from 10 litres a minute to five.
• Kitchen Stream Swivel Tap – a 360-degree swivel aerator for the kitchen tap, giving a multi-directional spray.

The strip that catches the leak you’d never spot

The LeakyLoo strip is the quiet one on the list, and arguably the most useful. Toilet leaks are notoriously hard to notice. Water can trickle from the cistern into the bowl constantly, silently, with nothing to see and nothing to hear, while it runs up your bill in the background. South West Water says an undetected leak like this can waste thousands of litres of water and add hundreds of pounds to a metered bill over the course of a year.

The strip itself does the checking for you. Stick it inside the bowl, and it’s designed to change if it picks up a leak, giving you a clear early warning before the problem has had months to run unnoticed.

Why South West Water is pushing it now

South West Water says the devices are designed to help households cut water use without changing how they actually live day to day.

Megan Williams, Water Efficiency Delivery Manager for South West Water, said: “Every drop of water matters. These water-saving devices provide a straightforward and effective way for people to reduce their water use without changing their daily routines.

“Water is one of our most valuable natural resources, we are committed to helping customers understand how simple actions can contribute to long-term environmental resilience while also delivering savings at home.”

The devices are pitched as an easy fit, installed in minutes rather than requiring a plumber, with the water and cost savings starting from the moment they go in.

How to get yours

The kit is free, and South West Water has an order page for households to work through which devices suit their home before requesting them by post. Whether it’s a dripping loo you’ve never quite trusted or a shower that’s costing more than it should, there’s a case for ordering the lot and finding out what’s actually happening behind your own pipework.