Transforming your bathroom into a “green” space should be on every homeowner’s to-do list. It can mean a full-scale remodel or completing smaller projects you do one at a time. Budget and how much you spend on utilities often factor into the projects you take on versus the ones you might save for later. Since there are various ways to make more eco-friendly bathrooms, here are some common green bathroom ideas to consider.
Eco-Friendly Bathroom Tips: Ideas to “Green” Your Bathroom
Photo courtesy of DesignMine
Conserve Water
One of the most affordable green upgrades for the bathroom shower design is installing high-efficiency accessories that cut down on water usage. For example, high-efficiency faucets and shower heads use less water than regular ones. They regulate the water and decrease flow to maximize on efficiency. This also means homeowners can still get great water pressure for showers without increasing their water bill. You can also cut down the water bill by replacing your regular toilet with a dual flush toilet. Dual flush toilets get rid of solid and liquid waste in a different manner than regular toilets. This leads to decreased water usage.
Conserve Energy Use
To decrease your electricity bill, install LED light bulbs in place of fluorescents. Do this on the vanity, in the ceiling and in any lamps that you have throughout the bathroom. These consume less electricity while still shining brightly with less of a white glow and no buzzing noise.
Cut Down On Emissions
To decrease emissions in the bathroom, one of the popular “green” ideas is to paint the walls with no-VOC paint (volatile organic compound). This type of paint doesn’t add an excess of chemicals to your wall to make them shine. This type of paint is safest because it will not release harmful emissions that children could breathe in.
Another way to decrease emissions and your utility bill is to replace any single-paned windows in the bathroom with double-paned windows. These types of windows are eco-friendly and LEED-certified by the Department of Energy. They keep any heat or cold air from getting out, so your HVAC system will consume natural resources less to keep your house temperature regulated.
Use Recycled Products
Who knows how many thousands of trees are cut down every day to create cabinets, flooring, countertops and storage accessories? The environment is also hurt by bathroom materials manufactured in factories. To help the environment, consider alternative options for your bathroom. Recycled tile flooring, for example, is a green bathroom option that looks beautiful and affords the option to customize. The same can often be done with recycled lumber, though it costs more to have it sanded and stained for flooring uses.
Organic and Eco-friendly Products
Organic cotton towels and eco-friendly shower curtains are accessories for the bathroom that are made naturally and in a variety of colors and styles for homeowners to match in their bathrooms.
You can replace your single-use cotton swabs with LastSwab’s reusable, sustainable and sanitary swabs. It comes in colorful bio cases and is easy to clean by hand using soap and water.
Homeowners should also consider bamboo for the bathroom. Instead of being made from trees, bamboo items are made from a grass that reproduces quickly, so there’s less risk of it going extinct or costing a lot to replace. Homeowners can choose from a variety of bamboo options like flooring, cabinets, baskets and countertops. It allows for the bathroom to include accessories that appear like wood without negatively affecting the environment.
Conclusion
These green bathroom ideas will help you get started in the ongoing process of making more eco-friendly choices for your bathroom and your life!
Several of these eco-friendly bathroom tips were contributed by Andrea Davis, editor at HomeAdvisor. HomeAdvisor is a leading home industry resource that specializes in connecting homeowners to local home service professionals as well as providing comprehensive resources for all home projects. All tools are free for homeowners.
Do you have any tips to share on how you make your bathroom more eco- friendly? We’d love to read them in the comments.
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Small Footprints says
These are great tips. We just bought some property and will begin building our small, Eco-friendly home in a week or so. I’m definitely telling my contractor (aka hubby) to consider the ideas you’ve mentioned for our bathroom.
Bryan@GreenGlobalTravel says
All great ideas here! Definitely will do some of these things to become more eco friendly. Especially conserving water. It saves me money and is good for the environment!