Great Green Updates For Your Bathroom

November 27 2012

Looking to update your bathroom this winter? Want to finally make the leap to green? There's no reason that energy efficiency and utmost comfort can't go hand in hand. We all know the bathroom is a space particularly prone to chill. Sometimes a window needs to be opened to air out a steamy shower, or perhaps it's just the tile under your feet that's particularly chilly. But thanks to eco-friendly advances like radiant heat, you won't need to worry about sacrificing comfort for green thinking. Consider these steps to a greener bathroom.

Draft check
The first thing you'll want to do is make sure that your bathroom isn't the victim of a multitude of drafts. As the saying goes, there's no point in heating the outdoors. Make sure that the warmth you generate for your home isn't slipping out by sealing windows for maximum energy efficiency. You can even seek out windows and doors that are qualified by the government's Energy Star program.

Radiant heat
One of the biggest terms in green energy right now is radiant heat. This all natural system uses simple convection currents to keep a room or entire home warm from the ground up. No more gusts of hot air, no more dusty heat, just clean and green warmth under your flooring. Best of all, radiant heat flooring fits perfectly under hardwood, tile and numerous other materials.

Eco-friendly toilet
Now that you're cozy, it's time to get down to the greenest fixtures you can find. This includes an eco-friendly toilet that's low on water waste. Each flush of a toilet can use up quite a lot of water, requiring more than a gallon per flush on average, according to The ABCs of Toilets. Help get that down to half a gallon or less with an eco-friendly toilet!

Water-conserving shower head
If you think a toilet uses a lot of water, just imagine how much ends up down your household's shower drain on a regular day. Help reduce this by investing in a water-conserving shower head.

All natural cleaning products
Of course, one of the most eco-friendly things you can do for your bathroom is invest in all natural cleaning products. Rather than filling the air with chemicals and toxins, invest in cleaning products with ingredient lists your recognize. Or you can even make your own!

Organic cottons
Similarly, when shopping for towels or bathrobes, choose organic cotton brands. Support of this industry means you're reducing your carbon footprint both inside and outside your own bathroom!