Today Oust, the descaling solution, launches its ‘We Can Save it’ initiative, to help people in London save money this winter following the pandemic. This follows new research revealing that London residents are expected to spend £200 million scrapping and replacing household goods over the festive period*, although 41% of London residents said products being replaced could be saved, and 42% of are currently in debt. Oust has worked with experts from all over the UK to offer free advice to people in London to help them save money and on waste this season.

With British households expected to rack up debts worth a combined £6 billion over the next year because of the coronavirus crisis, 18% of people in London admitted that they are struggling to afford Christmas this year and 38% said that the cost of Christmas is causing them anxiety. 17% said they feel pressure to spend money at this time of year, and 18% said they are still in debt from Christmas 2019.

Despite this, the survey reveals that London residents are set to be scrapping and replacing a wide range of household items, with clothing topping the list (52%), followed by large and small domestic appliances (59%), and furniture (31%). More than a quarter (29%) admitted that deals and discounts are the main motivation for buying new household items over the festive season, with more than a quarter (27%) buying new household goods to replace items they don’t know how to repair.

With COVID-19 fuelling the worst economic plunge for 300 years with huge spikes in unemployment, 46% of London residents said their finances have been negatively impacted during the pandemic and 50% claim this has led them into debt.

To help people in London save for the festive period and beyond, Oust has launched its ‘We Can Save It’ initiative, with advice from top experts on waste, tackling limescale, finances, energy, repairs, electrics, plumbing and home upcycling (and more), which has been carefully created into a free downloadable booklet here.

Claudia Berto, a spokesperson at Oust, comments: “Each year Oust helps people across London save their appliances by tackling limescale which increases during winter months, however, this year we have also partnered with other experts to create the ‘We Can Save It’ advice booklet, following the pandemic. Whether it’s taking better care of household items to increase their lifespan or turning the heating down a notch or two, simple changes at home can go a long way to help reduce costs and waste.”