Bamford’s Waterblade Review
Bamford’s Waterblade is a simple eco-friendly device that you can fit to a bathroom mixer tap in order to save water and money.
I was first made aware of Bamford’s Waterblade from watching an episode of Dragon’s Den on the BBC. Massively impressed with the innovation I immediately looked them up and got in touch to get hold of a Water Blade to see how much water and money I could save.
Unfortunately my haste was such that I didn’t check first if my home system would be suited. I have separate bathroom taps, not a mixer tap – as is the stipulated requirement for fitting a Waterblade!
Nevertheless, when the small device arrived through the letter box in its small letter sized package I decided to try it on my kitchen mixer tap instead. NB: Bamford’s don’t recommend installing on kitchen taps because of the extra time it would take to fill kettles and washing up bowls.
Still, I was curious to see the waterblade in action, even if I needed to uninstall it again afterwards. Fortunately the installation process is very straight forward so it was easy enough to trial out. I even thought that perhaps I could get used to the longer time to fill the kettle – after all it would help me remember to ‘live slow’ and ‘in the moment‘!
However, I then came to a second snag with my plans. The way my boiler is set up is not compatible with the waterblade. The issue I had was with the hot water flow in my system: In order for the boiler to return hot water when the hot tap is turned on there must be a sufficient amount of water pressure. Because the Waterblade reduces water usage by so much, the flow was too low for the boiler to heat the water up when the hot tap was on.
I turned the isolator up to increase the flow enough that the boiler would heat the water. But at this level the flow was too great for the water blade, giving me a wide spray of greater than 20cm. Bamford’s say in their installation instructions that a spray of 10cm is ideal and 20cm or greater will not work.
Despite not having the correct system myself to be able to utilise Bamford’s Waterblade, most modern bathrooms will be able to take advantage of this nifty little device. Just be sure to check first that your system is compatible.
Since giving my feedback, Bamford’s have also told me that they are working on a dynamic flow control model which will iron out the issues I’ve had. This model is nearing completion and is set to be rolled out later in 2018.
How much can it save?
The Waterblade uses 75% less water than a standard tap, and 50% less than a water saving aerator. Financially Bamfords Waterblade claims it could save you £75 per year via your water heating and water bills.
The Bamfords waterblade should pay back its purchase price in 3 months of bill savings.
Water their values?
This innovative product has won various awards for their innovation, efficiency and green values. The company supports the charity WaterAid. Bamford’s Waterblade state that their aim is to help make a difference around the world regarding water poverty and climate change.
Conclusion
This is a brilliant little device that can save you money and reduce water wastage, made by a company whose values seem set in the right direction. If you have a mixer tap in your bathroom and don’t have an issue with the hot water only coming through on a high flow, you should definitely give Bamford’s Waterblade a go!
…and when you do, add your own little review in the comments below. ✌️ Sam
Posted on 30 January 2018
I´ve been using the waterblade to good effect on my bathroom tap in S Spain where we´re in drought. Now I´ve just got to get the rest of the country interested!
Good stuff Jonathan. The best thing you can do is talk to everyone you can about it and give them info on where to get theirs. Wishing you some good rains asap.