Water conservation has become more essential, so now is an opportune time to look into eco-friendly plumbing solutions for your home. By decreasing indoor water consumption and contributing towards a greener world while saving money.
Establish new household water conservation habits so everyone understands and embraces them, such as checking water bills for any abnormal usage that might signal leaks that need fixing! Putting all members of the household on board will help everyone learn to conserve water efficiently. Additionally, monthly water bills should be reviewed for any unusual usage which might indicate leaks that should be fixed immediately!
1. Install Water-Efficient Fixtures
Upgraded plumbing can be a great step toward green living. Installing water-efficient fixtures and faucets will significantly decrease water use, thus cutting costs while improving energy efficiency.
Other eco-friendly improvements can include purchasing ENERGY STAR-rated dishwashers and washing machines that use less energy and water, installing tankless water heaters or rainwater harvesting and recycling systems; such investments require greater upfront investments but will quickly pay for themselves through lower water and energy bills.
Insulating your pipes is another great way to save energy and protect the environment. As hot water flows through uninsulated pipes, it wastes energy and produces greenhouse gasses; with living costs steadily rising, every drop saved represents both savings for yourself and the planet.
2. Install Low-Flow Faucets
Saving energy doesn’t just involve turning off lights or adjusting your thermostat; your plumbing can also save water and money by making eco-friendly plumbing upgrades like installing low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.
Devices designed to limit water usage per minute help limit our utility bills while conserving nature’s precious resource. You can easily check a faucet’s rated flow by looking at its GPM rating on the side – if its consumption surpasses 2.75 GPM, get yourself an aerator with a lower flow rating immediately!
Another step to be eco-friendly when plumbing includes not flushing non-biodegradable materials down your toilet such as wipes, feminine hygiene products and certain papers as these can clog drains and sewage systems, contributing to environmental pollution. Instead, food waste and organic matter should be composted for better garden soil creation.
3. Install Water-Efficient Toilets
One of the best eco-friendly plumbing tricks is installing water-efficient toilets. In fact, if all homes switched their old models for those approved by EPA every year, billions of gallons would be saved annually!
If you are considering replacing your toilet, be sure to discuss all of your available options with a local plumber. Some toilets can be upgraded to use only 1.2 gallons per flush; others provide dual flush options that can handle either liquids or waste.
An easy DIY hack to reduce the flushing power of your toilet is to fill a water bottle with pebbles or sand and place it inside of its tank, where its added weight will decrease water usage per flush. Furthermore, many toilet models today come equipped with pressure assist or gravity flush options which even further decrease usage.
4. Install Rain Barrel Systems
Rain barrels capture rainfall that would otherwise go to waste and provide an easy source of fresh water for outdoor irrigation, cutting municipal water consumption by 40% while decreasing stormwater runoff and keeping pesticides and fertilizers from polluting lakes and rivers.
Installing a rain barrel system is an achievable DIY project that can be accomplished in one afternoon. Begin by rinsing all inside and outside barrels thoroughly to remove any build-up of dirt or debris that has collected.
On the bottom of your first barrel, trace a downspout flex-elbow connector opening using chalk and cut it out with a jigsaw (Image 1). Attach this barrel to its footing using PVC plumbing connectors; additionally add an overflow hose that diverts excess rainwater when your rain barrel fills to capacity (Image 3).
5. Install Solar Covers
Being eco-friendly in today’s climate change era can only benefit us all. By adding green features to your home, not only will energy consumption decrease but so too will utility costs! By doing this, your utility bills could even become much lower!
Showerheads and faucets are an excellent starting point when switching to eco-friendly plumbing, providing strong water flow while using less water – saving thousands of gallons every year in this way! Low-flow models are available that help you do just this.
Installing solar covers over your pool can help limit evaporation loss and save you money on fill water and chemicals. Plus, with covers made of LDPE (category 4), when season ends you can recycle them at local council recycling facilities!