In today’s environmental crisis, each of us has a responsibility to our planet to do our part in preserving it. Living in a sustainable home is your way of contributing to saving the world. This might seem like a bold and complicated statement, but making your household green doesn’t have to be a mission impossible. If you start one room at a time, you’ll have a completely sustainable home in no time. It all starts with your bathroom, as it is one of the most harmful rooms for the environment in the house. Here are some useful tips to make it eco-friendly.
Change your water heater
Constantly heating water in a big tank simply isn’t an efficient way to have hot water in the bathroom. Instead, you should opt for an on-demand water heater. Traditional heaters heat water even when nobody is using the bathroom. You also have to wait for the water to heat before you actually use it. On the contrary, tankless water heaters will only heat water when you actually need it. As they heat water instantly, you’ll also never run out of hot water during a shower, no matter how many people showered before you!
Update your heating
Heating is a very important factor for any bathroom. Having a heating system that just isn’t efficient can end up costing you and the environment a lot in the long run. Infra-red heat lamps could be the ideal long-term solution. The way the system works is that infra-red lamps heat just the person who’s drying off instead of heating the whole space. You might be thinking that this is unpractical for winter months when you don’t want to wait a second for the lamps to warm up. The good news is that infra-red lamps require no warm-up time whatsoever and will heat you up instantly.
Go for homemade cleaning products
Traditional cleaning products for the bathroom are essentially the worst thing you could be using. They’re extremely harmful to both you and the planet’s health. Not to mention, they can be quite expensive. Luckily, your kitchen cupboards are full of things you can use for a pristine cleaning job. A bit of baking soda and vinegar will go a long way in cleaning the entire bathroom. All you have to do is sprinkle soda around and add a little vinegar on the problem areas. After letting it foam and sit for 5-10 minutes, grab an eco-friendly sponge or brush and start scrubbing. You don’t even have to miss out on the fresh smell with lemon-scented essential oils.
Use eco-friendly bath products
Almost everything you use in your bathroom daily can be replaced with a more eco-friendly version. From bath towels to toilet paper and hand soap, you’ll find eco-friendly alternatives in any big supply store. By purchasing certified organic and green bath products, you’re actually supporting ethical businesses that don’t put money first. Let’s not forget that your skin will be in less contact with harmful chemicals, as green bath products are free of toxic preservatives like parabens. As far as the cost is concerned, the more green products that people use, the more easily-available they’ll become.
Install a bidet
Even though it seems contrary to being eco-friendly, installing a bidet in your bathroom can contribute greatly to minimizing the use of toilet paper and wasting water. Properly using a bidet on an everyday basis can end up saving you some money on your water bill, too. If you use a bidet every time you go to the bathroom, you’ll be able to clean yourself more thoroughly and you won’t need to use almost any toilet paper. Thus, the demand for this product will decrease, eventually saving a lot of trees. The initial investment might be higher than you anticipate, but it will definitely pay for itself in the long run. And let’s not forget how comfortable and convenient bidets are.
Change the bulbs
Finally, you can also stop using traditional light bulbs. They’re very wasteful and drain more electricity than need be. If you want to make a change and cut down on electrical waste, switch to the more eco- friendly LED light . Saving electricity doesn’t only result in a greener planet, it also equals lower utility bills. LED lights won’t disappoint you with their soothing white light which is much better for you than the traditional yellow glow we’re all used to. They’ll last twice as long too, making the switch definitely worth your time.
Conclusion
Making your bathroom green doesn’t have to be something expensive or hard to do. Remember that finding the right eco-friendly things will take time and that maintaining a sustainable home is a process.
About the Author
Sarah Jessica Smith is a young blogger from Sydney. She is in love with life and all the things that can make her daily routine easier. She loves to write about home improvement, lifestyle, and all the small things that make life such a great adventure.
