5 of the Most Crucial Elements to Keeping Your Bathroom Green
Going green throughout your house isn’t just about using products that are environmentally friendly and will reduce your impact on the earth. It’s also about protecting your family from exposure to harsh chemicals. As an added bonus, in many cases, using green products can help reduce the impact on your wallet, which is a benefit any family can appreciate. Looking to going green in your bathroom? Make sure you use green products and materials for your health and the environments help in your bathroom!
Try these five tips to make your bathroom more green and eco-friendly than ever before.
1. Be Water-Wise
You already know that if you’re trying to conserve water, you should take faster showers, turn the water off when you’re brushing your teeth, and use a toilet that reduces the amount of water used to flush away waste. However, there are a few things that you can do in your bathroom to reduce your water use still further. First, consider installing a low-flow showerhead. Most traditional shower heads use around five gallons of water per minute, but with low-flow showerheads, you can cut that amount in half. Fix leaky taps and faucets as quickly as possible. A single leaking faucet can use as much as twenty gallons of water a day.Simple leaks are usually a DIY job, but for larger leaks a Los Angeles plumber can help tackle that. Finally, if you really want to conserve water only flush when you have solid waste.
2. Go With Recycled Glass, Ceramic, or Porcelain Tiles
When you design your bathroom, you want to know that every element is as “green” as possible. That means that your tiles, too, should be chosen from eco-friendly options. This is easier if you’re working with a tile distributor instead of a home improvement store, as they’ll have more options. No matter where you get your tile, however, look for options like ceramic or porcelain, which are naturally more eco-friendly. Another solution is to check out recycled glass tile, which has the added benefit of being a unique and beautiful accent for your bathroom.
3. Use Organic Cotton
What kind of towels are you using in your bathroom? What about the material used to make your shower curtain or your bath mat? If you’re like many consumers, you’ve never taken the time to look. The next time you go to buy towels, consider choosing an organic cotton option. Organic cotton is grown from seeds that haven’t been genetically modified, and no chemicals are used during the growing process. While there are those who argue that organic cotton takes a great deal more water to produce than other crops, long-term research suggests that over time, the amount of water is reduced to a more normal level.
4. Avoid Particle Board Cabinets
Particleboard cabinets seem like the cheapest, easiest way to add storage to your bathroom. Unfortunately, particleboard is made with formaldehyde, a chemical that can leech out of the wood over time. Particleboard also fails to hold up as well as traditional wooden cabinets, which means that under the stress of regular use, it won’t be long before it has to be replaced. In this situation, the best thing you can do for the environment is choose a solid wood cabinet that will have a longer lifespan and keep the chemicals out of your home.
5. Use Green Cleaning Products
When you use strong chemicals in your home, you’re putting everyone at risk. Not only are you exposing the lungs and skin of your family members to those chemicals, which can increase the risk of developing asthma and other health elements, you’re also increasing the chemicals in the air and water supply. By going green, you get better air quality, lower chemical exposure, and lower-cost cleaning options. In many cases, a vinegar and water solution is more than adequate to clean anything that you need to clean, and it’s a much less expensive solution than most traditional cleaning products. Check out the best non-toxic ways to clean your home. As an added bonus, if you have small children at home, you don’t have to worry if a bottle of your cleaning solution is left sitting around.
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Hi Marla,
This is such a helpful article! Using safe, natural and green products and practices is very important to me so I am pleased that you shared your informative and valuable tips for keeping our bathrooms green at the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I’m pinning and sharing.
Thanks Deborah for sharing and I am glad you found it helpful. Have a healthy happy blessed week!
Thanks Marla for this great article about the crucial elements for keeping bathrooms green that I pinned. Like your tips for conserving water and using organic cotton for towels, shower curtain, etc. I practically eliminated using paper towels for cleaning the bathroom. I use cloth rags instead. Wishing you a great weekend. Nancy A@ obloggernewbie.blogspot.com
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for pinning. I always use old towels or rags to clean almost every thing too. Glad you liked my tips and I hope you have a happy healthy blessed weekend. Marla
Great advices! There are some good cleaning products you find in your kitchen – baking soda for example. Shared. Have a green and happy week!
Hi Charlotte,
Thanks for sharing. I make sure that I always clean green in every room of the house and baking soda is certainly helpful. Thanks for reading my article and commenting. Marla