3 Tips to Save Water from your Bathroom

Did you know that your bathroom uses more water compared to any other room in your home? In fact, over a quarter of the water used in your entire home just goes down the toilet bowl. Does this mean you have to limit the number of flushes or the times you go to the bathroom? Of course not! But here are some things you can do to save on your water usage.

Toilets

There is so much hype about low-flow toilets today, but are they really worth it? For about $200 to $300 a unit, you can save as much as 23,000 gallons of water a year. Is this worth replacing your old toilet? When you consider that old toilet models can use as much as 7 gallons of water with each flush, then the answer is a definitive yes!

Old style toilets are susceptible to poor flush performance, which means that there is a possibility that waste may not even go down properly after a single flush. With reengineered models, flushing power is increased while using less water. The difference gives you savings in water usage as well as significant lowering of your water bill.

Looking for more savings? Use high-efficiency toilets that are designed to use 20 percent less water. Dual-flush toilets use either 0.8 gallons or 1.6 gallons of water with every flush. These options translate to savings of about 6,000 gallons of water every year. You may also want to try pressure-assisted models that rely only on 1.1 gallons of water to deliver efficient flushing performance that can save about 5,000 gallons of water yearly.

Showerheads

Low-flow technology is not limited to toilets, there are also low-flow showerhead models that cost anywhere from $20 to $100 and can give you savings of as much as 7,800 gallons of water yearly. Do you have a water heater? Using low-flow showerheads can save you as much as $90 a year if you have an electric water heater and about $40 if you have a gas-powered one.

Are you aware that showerheads are the second greatest user of water and accounts for majority of your energy usage? About 70 percent of the water used through the showerhead is sourced from the water heater. This means that if you have an inefficient showerhead you are wasting both water and energy.

Low-flow showerheads can give drastic reduction in your usage and utility bills through increase of water pressure while using less water and energy. Efficient low-flow showerheads should be able to fill a 1-gallon container in more than 24 seconds to ensure that is uses only around 2.5 gpm. Older showerheads consume as much as 60 gallons of water for a 10 minute shower.

Today’s efficient showerheads are products of modern technology allowing high velocity water streams to deliver a satisfying shower while keeping water consumption at only 1.6 gpm. This is about 36 percent savings on the government mandated 2.5 gpm standard water flow.

Faucet Aerators

Faucet aerators are nothing new, however, they have become more efficient with the help of technology. Take for example a 2.2 gpm faucet, which means this is the amount of water used every time you turn it on. By simply installing a 1.5 gpm aerator, you have successfully reduced water consumption by as much as 30 percent. More importantly, this water saving device costs only around $2 to $5 from most home improvement centers.

The savings of 1,400 gallons every year from each faucet is substantial enough to save you money. Using this solution can save you as much as $5 for every 5 minute of faucet usage. Good enough?

To make the most of your water savings, always look for water efficient fixtures. These are guaranteed to deliver savings without compromising the quality of water pressure you have in your home. For any plumbing problems like bathroom repairs, always call on Scott English Plumbing’s plumbing professionals to avoid costly repairs.