Go Green in Your Bathroom

It's hard to believe, but in many homes it among the smallest rooms. It is also often the worst when it comes to wasting energy and natural resources. While it may not be a surprise to learn that the average bathroom uses most of the water in a home, the fact a lot of that water is being wasted may be.

It's not just water That is wasted. A lot of the energy used to heat that water is also going to waste. If you'd like some ideas on how to save some money as well as make your bathroom more eco friendly, here's how you can go green in your bathroom.

Toilet

Toilets account for around 30% of the water use in the average home, so anything you can do reduce water use will save you money.

A toilet that runs constantly is just water running right down the drain. Repairing a running toilet is a relatively easy project, with replacement parts readily available at your local home improvement store. You can also purchase printed instructions on how to remove the old, defective parts and install the fixtures.

New dual flush toilets use different amounts of water depending on whether you're flushing solid or liquid waste. Solid waste uses 1.8-gallons while a liquid waste flush uses only .8-gallons.

If you don't have the money to spend on buying and installing a new dual flush toilet, then fill a family sized plastic pop bottle with sand and place it a corner inside your toilet tank. The bottle will displace water when the tank fills, so there's less water in the tank when the toilet is flushed so less water is used.

Shower

Installing a low flow shower head will save both water and energy. Conventional shower heads use between 4 and 6-gallons of water per minute, while a low flow shower head will easily reduce that by at least half. New technology means modern low flow shower heads feel just like conventional heads.

Not only are you saving water with a low flow shower, but you are also saving energy by reducing your hot water usage. Hot water usually comprises 25% or more of a home's energy consumption.

If you're willing to change your habits, you can save even more water and energy by installing a low flow shower head with a shutoff valve. The valve allows you to shut off the water while soaping up, then just turn it back on to rinse without needing to adjust the temperature.

Basins

It's easy and quick to install an aerator on most bathroom faucets. Aerators are available that can reduce the water flow to as little as .5-gallons per minute. Just think about the water and energy savings a low flow aerator can generate.

A simple trick it to turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth. Most people don't, and the running water is simply being wasted.