Bathrooms are one of the few places in your home, which may cause green havoc (not only in terms of waste but also in your wallet). However, not everyone can afford to buy a brand new eco-friendly toilet and such, especially in this economical climate. Thus, below you will find a few easy steps you can take to prevent waste and make your loo a much greener space.
1 Stop the run-make using a sink stopper a habit. Pour some water in the sink to wash your face and hands, turn the faucet off while brushing teeth and use a cup instead to rinse. And make sure that your sink stopper does not leak as it will lead to water waste. These few steps can save up to a gallon of water a minute!
2. Change your shower experience-showers waste gallons of water unnecessarily. You can avoid the waste by simply taking shorter showers and turning the water off while lathering. If you want to do more, you can install a timer and replace your shower head with a Water-Sense or energy efficient one, which may save up to 3 gallons of water a minute! Take it even farther by keeping a bucket close by to catch the so-called gray water (water running while you’re waiting for it to warm up) to water the garden or lawn.
3. Flush wisely-toilets consume 30% of all household water usage, which means that 44 000 gallons of good quality water is flushed away per house each year. A single flush in a conventional toilet uses anywhere from 3.5 to 7 gallons of water and replacing the unit with a high-efficiency or Water-Sense labeled one (which use on average only 1.3 gallons or less) is your best bet. However, if you cannot afford a brand new toilet, install an inexpensive toilet dam (available in most hardware stores) or put a filled water or soda bottle in a cistern to reduce the amount of water used in each flush. And last but not least, check for silent leaks, which can waste up to 200 gallons a day, by adding a few drops of food coloring to the tank. If the colored water finds its way into the toilet bowl after 15 minutes, it’s time to call the plumber.
4. Change to a better toilet paper-most people are accustomed to using the two-ply paper, which has become more of a luxury than people realize. According to the data provided by the National Geographic “every ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 4,000 kilowatts of electricity, 3 cubic yards of landfill and 7,000 gallons of water” but the nice, soft toilet paper is made from either plantation-grown or native forest trees and only 2% of the available toilet paper is made from recycled paper. Switch to the greener variety that is recycled (if possible 100% recycled), chlorine-free and unbleached.
5. Fan it-using the bathroom fan is important to avoid mold and other harmful pollutants but fans are still responsible for adding to the negative carbon footprint. Make sure that your fan is not connected to the light switch, which will ensure it will be turned on only for the exhaust purposes and not ever time you turn the light on. Moreover, install energy-saving and thermostatically controlled fan, which turns on when the temperature in the bathroom rises. And don’t forget to clean the filter once a month to make sure the fan runs efficiently.
