Green Living... Friendly Bathroom Alternatives

Home Improvement Corner with Guest Blogger Sam Marquit

As a remodeler living on Long Island, I have the privilege of working with a number of different homeowners throughout my unique section of New York. Life is simpler here, and I'd like to think it's also more in tune with nature. To that end, whenever I come across a new piece of Long Island real estate such as a home or a condominium, I try to approach my remodeling from an environmental or green perspective. One of the areas of a home I find most amenable to green remodeling is the bathroom. A lot can be done to remodel a bathroom in ways that leave less of an impact on the earth. Here are a few different ways I've found to make bathrooms more environmentally friendly.

First of all, I find it helpful to think about water consumption above anything else where bathrooms are considered. In my line of work, I've learned that more than one fourth of every gallon of water used in a home is used to flush and replenish the toilet. This is why a lot of people look to the old brick in the tank trick to reduce the capacity of the toilet when it comes to flushing.

Another approach I recommend is installing a dual flush toilet. Dual flush toilets have two modes of flushing. One tackles light tasks such as liquid wastes while the other tackles heavy tasks such as solid wastes. While they are more expensive than traditional toilets, they can save close to 20,000 gallons of water every year. Considering how scarce fresh water is on the planet, I consider each gallon saved well worth it. I recommend people who are interested in keeping their old toilets simply install a dual flushing mechanism, which will pay for itself within one year's use.

Second, when designing environmentally friendly bathroom alternatives, my first thought is to tackle the shower. It is estimated that up to one-fifth of household water consumption comes from shower usage, and most of that water is heated. A quick way to make a bathroom more sustainable is to replace the standard showerhead with a low flow shower head. These will still allow you to get clean while significantly reducing the amounts of water you use with each shower.

Third, I find it helpful to examine how the water itself in a bathroom is heated. The truth is that after the kitchen, most of the energy used in a home is actually consumed in the bathroom. The majority of the energy used in the bathroom is spent on heating bathtubs and showers. As a result, a quick way to reduce the energy that's wasted is to install an insulating blanket around a hot water heater, presuming it is the tank kind.

Furthermore, I find that turning down the temperature of the water heater from 140 degrees fahrenheit to 120 degrees can save a significant amount of money per year on energy costs in most settings, including homes, apartments, and condominiums.  In any case, energy/water consumption is one of the biggest factors to be addressed during a bathroom remodel.  Aside from the kitchen, the bathroom yields the greatest amount of H2O usage inside the house.

 Sam is an entrepreneur, home improvement specialist and part time blogger.  Feel free to visit Sam's blog http://fmarquitv.tumblr.com/

Terrell Dinkins

Residential Designer

Atlanta Interior Design

www.poshinteriorsllc.com