Ask any plumber and he will tell you that you are probably wasting water in your bathroom. Water is becoming a precious commodity, and prices are on the increase. Eco-friendly doesn't always mean savings can be made, but the bathroom is one of those places in the home where saving money and being "green" go hand in hand.
How many times a day do your flush?
Most homeowners are not aware of how much water they use in the bathroom. You can fit smart meters that will measure the amount of water used per room. It is easy to think that most of the water is used in the kitchen or laundry room, but this is far from the truth.
Most of the water we use is used in the bathroom, and a staggering 30% is used flushing the toilet. Next time you receive a water bill and try to work out how many gallons you used.
An older toilet may consume as much 8 gallons in every flush and the average household flush their toilet 15 times per day. That could mean that your toilet is consuming at least 120 gallons per day, or 3,600 gallons per month. Not a very efficient use of water!
A low-flow toilet uses about 2 gallons or less per flush. Based on the same figures, installing a low flow toilet would mean a potential saving of 2,700 gallons per month. You would soon get your money back on your investment.
Don't rush out and buy a toilet the next time there is a sale on. Speak to a local plumbing service they will point you in the right direction of other savings you can make in the bathroom. There is a lot more to bathroom savings than installing a low-flow toilet!
Showers
We always say taking a shower saves us a lot of money, but does it? A ten minute shower uses on average 50 gallons of water. So, if there are four people in the household, and everybody takes a shower every day, it would mean the household shower consumes another 6,000 gallons per month.
Most of us have not changed our shower heads to low-flow shower heads, but we should call our local plumbing service to ask which the most efficient shower head is. The newer low-flow shower heads deliver about 2.5 gallons per minute, and the shower is still refreshing. However, instead of using 6,000 gallons of water per month, you would be using 3,000 gallons.
How much does a low-flow shower head cost? Expect to pay an average of $35 when you buy one online. Money well spent in anybody's book.
Most of us call a plumbing service in an emergency only, but it is about time we start to think of plumbers in a different way. My plumber has saved our household a lot of money and water, and I think he is a modern Eco-friendly super hero.
