Do you love an extra-long shower? Do you leave the water running the whole time you brush your teeth? Your bathroom is a major source of water use—from flushing the toilet and taking a shower, to brushing your teeth. Additionally, most bathrooms are filled with products that aren’t as eco-friendly as we would like.
Are you trying to conserve water in your home or working to be kind to the earth? We have put together a list of ways to conserve water and design ideas to create an eco-friendly bathroom. If we all do a little bit, we will make a significant difference!
Reduce Your Use of Water in Your Bathroom
- Install Low-Flow shower heads and reduce overall shower time (we know, this one is really hard!). Shower plumbing has come a long way and newer low-flow shower heads do not mean reduced water pressure. Aim for one that has a flow rate of around 2.5 gallons a minute as compared to a standard one with a flow rate of 3 to 4 gallons a minute.
- Installing aerators on your faucets will help reduce the amount of water used. An aerator mixes the water with air, creating an efficient, smooth flow of water. This, combined with turning off the water while brushing teeth or shaving, will significantly cut down on water usage. Watch this video for easy aerator installation!
- A dual flush toilet can save a good deal of water in a year. Did you know that toilets use approximately 27% of the water consumed in a home? If installing a new toilet isn’t an option, there are several DIY options available for items you can put in your toilet tank to conserve water.
- Tankless water heaters only heat the water when needed, which reduces the consumption of energy as well as the cost to heat the water. A family of 5 living in Columbus, Ohio would need a 10 GPM gas or 27 kW electric tankless heater. This might be something to consider when remodeling your home!
- Ditch the large garden or built-in soaking tubs for a free-standing tub, that takes up less space and uses less water. This will cut down on the amount of water needed for a bath. Read our blog about removing garden tubs!
Designing an Eco-Friendly Bathroom
What can you do to make your bathroom a bit more sustainable and environmentally friendly? Even just implementing a few of these ideas could help the planet.
Product Choices
- Find some beautiful reusable glass, plastic, or bamboo containers for your shampoo and soap. You buy them once and just refill as needed. Even better, take them to a store that offers refillable products.
- Switch to shampoo, conditioner, and soap bars for hair and body care, instead of products in plastic bottles.
- Use bamboo toothbrushes (most are 100% biodegradable-just throw them away, but not inside a plastic bag) to cut down on the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and the ocean.
- A hard one to make the switch to for some of us, switch to a responsibly-sourced toilet paper, which is more sustainable and made with materials that are better for the environment.
Room Design Options
- Reclaimed wood cabinets are an environmentally friendly idea. Use FSC-certified wood for a more sustainable product.
- Consider using materials for countertops and cabinets like glass, bamboo, stone, concrete, or tile as part of your design. These materials are part of a more sustainable plan.
- Low-wattage exhaust fans still do the job, but at a lower wattage and better energy efficiency. What an easy change to make in any bathroom!
- A skylight can let in loads of natural light, which cuts down on energy usage—you don’t need the lights on during the day or on a moonlit night.
- Go sustainable with VOC-free paint (to cut down on chemicals), sustainable flooring, such as cork, bamboo, or eco-friendly concrete, and install LED lighting.
- Add living plants to your bathroom. Plants that thrive in low-light and warm climates will thrive in a bathroom. They help clean the air and provide your bathroom with beauty and serenity.
Being eco-friendly isn’t always less expensive, so maybe start with a few items you can get behind and work towards more changes. If we can all just start with something, we will make a difference.
Our award-winning Design Team is here to help you navigate your remodeling journey, in any way we can. Contact us today to get started on your bathroom remodel!