This is a simple adjustment that saves you money and the worry of getting burned by scalding water. Many water heaters have a control for how hot water is heated and factory defaults are often hotter than necessary. Simply turn down the temperature to stop wasting energy. Give it a try and enjoy the benefits.

• How low should you go? When you take a shower turn your hot water all the way on with no cold water. If it is too hot then your heater is turned up too high. Adjust your water heater temperature down so if you only use hot water for a shower it is a nice, relaxing feeling.

• How do you adjust your temperature? An easy way to figure it out is to search online for videos about how to do it. Find a video that has a water heater that looks similar to yours. Alternatively, you can look at the instruction booklet for your hot water heater or ask someone handy that would likely know and can help.

• There is no evidence that using hot water out of the tap has any benefit in killing bacteria. For washing hands or washing dishes, cold water reduces bacteria as well as hot water. Plus using overly hot water is damaging to our skin.