The decision to remodel a bathroom is one that is taken for many different reasons by yourself and other homeowners. The majority of homeowners looking to remodel their bathrooms identify the high level of return on investment that can be obtained with a bath remodel. HGTV explains your ability to go green in your remodeled bathroom has been made easy if your home was built or last updated before the early-1990s. The 1994 Water Conservation mandates improved the level of environmental improvements that have been seen over the last three decades.
Take a Look at Your Toilets
One of the best places to start when you are thinking of a bath remodel is by taking on the issue of your toilet. House Beautiful explains the average return on investment for a bathroom remodeling project is over 50 percent with even more savings available when you choose to upgrade your toilet. In total, a toilet uses around 30 percent of the annual water usage of your home, which means you can save water and money on your utility bills. The toilet in your home is one of the most important appliances in any home and should always be explored when new models can save up to $2,000 per year on your water bills.
Leaking Faucets
This is one of the simplest ways of looking to go green in your home when upgrading your bathroom in the coming months. A leaking faucet can cause your water bills to climb by huge amounts but undertaking some form of bathroom improvements can make an impact on your environmental impact. If you are not wanting to undertake a major overhaul with new faucets that are rated by their efficiency, changing the aerator in the faucet will help limit losses. A switch to a Water Sense faucet will have a larger impact with around 30 percent in savings seen when this type of accessory is installed.
Change your Showerhead
Another simple fix that can be explored is a change of the showerhead you are using to bathe each day. In the U.S., showering uses a large amount of water each day with around 17 percent of daily water usage being focused on showering. If you feel your showerhead is not efficient, you can switch it out for a Water Sense labeled version that will save you money and water for a relatively low purchase cost.
Your shower or tub can often look dull and dirty when it is being used daily by your family. This may tempt you to buy a new shower or tub without taking the time to explore whether it is damaged or leaking. This can leave you replacing a tub or shower that simply needs to be refinished to regain its shine and ideal look.
Think About your Countertops
How often do you think about where your countertops come from when you are choosing them for your bathroom? The answer should be that you consider them when you are looking for a better way of updating your bathroom in an environmentally-friendly way. Countertops can now be made from several recycled materials, including newspaper and soy flour. The benefit of these countertops is their ability to mimic the appearance of natural materials, such as stone and granite.
Lighting Should be Upgraded
There are many ways you can have an impact on the environmental footprint of your bathroom, including through the lighting fixtures and bulbs used. If you are looking to lower your utility bills by going green in your bathroom, you should begin by looking at the age of your light fixtures. If your light fixtures are more than two decades old you will usually find your electricity usage will be higher than if you had installed new light fixtures under the Energy Star banner. The other option for lighting in your bathroom is to change the outdated bulbs you may still be using and install LED bulbs that save significant amounts of energy.
Change your Water Heater Settings
To make sure the water in your heater is always hot and ready for use, most manufacturers set their models to above 125F as the consistent temperature. Turning your water heater to less than 125F will help you lower your annual costs and preserve the energy resources of the environment. You may want to undergo a complete change in the way you receive hot water by installing an on-demand hot water tankless system that heats water only when needed close to the faucet or showerhead being used.
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