Amazing Tips for an Eco-Friendly Green Bathroom

Going green is very much in vogue as people realize that it cuts down energy bills, saves water, and ensures a safer, healthier environment for all. The bathroom, with its great potential for waste is the easiest to turn green. From low- cost to time and money consuming alternatives, here are a few ways you can do your part for Mother Nature.

Start by shutting off the faucet while shaving or brushing your teeth and switching off your lights when leaving the bathroom. This is the quickest way to get green and is really common sense. Small acts like these can go a long way in saving water and energy.

Check for any leaky faucets or toilets, and make sure everything is properly installed. You would be surprised at the amount of water a leak can waste if left unattended.

Commercial cleaning agents/drain cleaners do more than just clean. They are harsh and leave a toxic residue. A quick raid to your kitchen will turn up a host of poison-free alternatives like baking soda, vinegar, and lemons, excellent for general bathroom cleaning and unblocking drains.

A shower uses a lot less water than a bath, but you can go a step further and use low flow showerheads, which are inexpensive and easy to install. Other frugal tips include a navy shower; where you shower and shut off the water while soaping yourself; having a bucket in the shower to recycle used water; as well as having shorter, shared and maybe even less frequent showers J

The toilet is the culprit for excessive water use with close to 5 billion gallons flushed away daily in the US alone. The highly touted dual flush toilets are the way to go as they use up to 60% less water per flush. If you cannot change or have the old types of toilets that really waste water, then fill up a 2-gallon bottle with water and put it in the tank. It works just as well. Another simple rule; less flushing. If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down. Right?

Buy 'green' cosmetics and accessories that are kinder to your skin and the environment. Pure castile soap, shampoo bars, cocoa butter or Shea butter, loofahs for an invigorating scrub, soap dishes made from recycled glass or soapstone, super soft bamboo towels and eco-friendly wooden toothbrushes. Recycled toilet paper does not look as bad as it sounds.

Vinyl/PVC shower curtains are not worth the hazardous fumes you're constantly inhaling. Curtains made from natural materials such as organic cotton and hemp last longer and can be laundered.

At the high end, if you can afford to remodel, then there's a lot of natural material out there that you can work with including recycled glass and paper, bamboo, cork and paint that's VOC-free ( free of Volatile Organic Compounds). Insulating your heating tanks and hot water pipes will also do their part for energy conservation.

Article Resource: Khadija Darani