The bathroom in a home gets a lot of use, from brushing teeth, flushing the toilet and showering. Just looking at flushing the toilet, this accounts for nearly 30% of the home’s water usage.
There are so many things that you can do to make your bathroom more eco-friendly. “Going Green” does not require you to forego the pleasures of baths, showers and home comforts, but a few simple switches and mindfulness goes a long way when it comes to the environment.
Here are 9 easy ways to make your bathroom more eco – friendly.
Seal all leaks
Setting aside the annoyance of a leaking shower or faucet, there is the fact that there is continual water flow and a lot of wasted water, so sorting this out yourself or by contacting your local plumber is a massive step and will reduce your home’s water consumption.
Switch showers and for baths
With the exception of extremely long showers, taking a bath typically uses significantly more water than a single shower. Simply reducing the number of baths you take and opting for a shower instead can save a lot of water over the course of the year.
Update your flush
If it’s within your budget, switching to a more eco- friendly toilet can make a huge difference – older model toilets use an average of 13 litres of water per flush, whereas the newer, dual flush models use between 4 and 6 litres.
This option is likely to have the highest upfront costs, but the environmental impact in the long run is huge.
Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth
Remember to turn off the tap when brushing your teeth – a running tap uses more than six litres of water per minute – and double-check that all taps are properly turned off before you leave the bathroom.
Avoid antibacterial soaps
Antibacterial soaps, according to studies, are no more beneficial to hand hygiene and cleanliness than regular soap and water. These antibacterial soaps, however, are harmful to the environment. With so many eco-friendly soap options on the market today, changing your soap is the simplest way to create a more eco- friendly bathroom.
Green Towels and air drying instead of tumble dry
Instead of using the tumble dryer, air-dry your towels.The average household tumble dryer is used 20 times in a month. The amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted per tumble dryer, per year is more than a tree can absorb in the first 50 years of its life. There are eco-friendly options of course, but the best and most economical way is to ditch the dryer and opt for the good old fashioned drying rack.
Another step towards a more eco-friendly bathroom is to choose bamboo towels and mats that are made out of sustainable materials. These materials are quick to grow and have a much smaller carbon footprint than the typical cotton and polyester options that flood the market.
Use environmentally friendly personal care products.
It is much easier to choose sustainable personal care products for use in your bathroom now that there is such a wide variety of eco-friendly and organic products on the market. The most common chemicals to avoid in bathroom products are parabens and sulphates, which are harmful to our health as well as the health of marine mammals.
Refilling your bathroom products, such as hand soap and body wash, is another simple way to reduce your carbon footprint and live more sustainably within your bathroom.
Natural vs. artificial lighting
Choose to maximise natural light when renovating your bathroom. A skylight or large windows are ideal for this. Not only will this save you money on electricity, but we also look better in natural light too, so this is a win for you and the environment.
Switching your toilet paper
Switching your toilet paper, this is a big one and there are companies popping up across the UK, such as Who Gives a Crap that are tackling this problem with sustainable alternatives. You can look online at your options, or simply go to your local supermarket and scan the shelves for recycled toilet paper. There are recycled options, some made from highly sustainable bamboo that will make a huge environmental difference.
There are so many options on the market these days, that creating a stylish and eco-friendly bathroom space has never been easier. Making simple substitutions and changes in the bathroom, be that from installing a water efficient toilet, switching to bamboo towels or refilling your soap dispensers, they all go a long way in helping the environment and reducing your home’s carbon footprint. Take the first steps today in creating a natural, efficient oasis in your home.
