As climate change continues to dictate our habits, it’s important for Californians to be knowledgeable about their own carbon footprint. These eco-friendly bathroom remodeling tips will help with green renovation, and encourage you to be more mindful in everyday life.
It’s high time your bathroom got a makeover. It’s looking sad and dated, and you just can’t deal with that avocado green bathtub anymore. The problem is, you know what kind of effect a remodel has on the environment.
Can you do a full remodel while being eco-friendly? Of course, you can. Here are some of the best eco-friendly bathroom remodeling tips to help you take care of the planet when you redo your bathroom.
1. Install More Efficient Fans
You wouldn’t think this would be an eco-friendly move, but you’d be surprised. A less than efficient fan lets mold and moisture build up in your bathroom. That allows more allergens into the atmosphere, which is bad for your family. It also means more harsh chemicals will be needed to clear that mold away.
Using better fans will help you stop this from happening. Run the fan while you’re showering and 15 minutes after, and you’ll see a real difference in the state of your bathroom.
2. Sustainable Bathroom Flooring
When it comes to flooring, you have more options than ever before. You can pick from several different types of sustainable flooring, that will look great and last for years, even in your bathroom. For example, cork is becoming highly popular with homeowners. It’s a fast growing material so it’s easy to harvest and replant, and is anti-microbial.
You may also want to go with bamboo, which looks amazing and resists mildew. Concrete is another good option, as it looks like stone, is easy to seal, and is super affordable. Ask at your local flooring store to see what kinds of floors they have on offer.
3. Repaint Your Cabinets
Another great way of saving cash and saving the planet is to repaint your cabinets. This is a good option if you like your cabinets and they’re in the right spot, but they’ve been worn out over time. Repainting them and adding new handles makes a world of difference to them.
If you’re inclined to DIY, this is a job you can do yourself, too. Follow an online guide and you can get your cabinets looking like new. Of course, there are companies who will handle this for you if you’re unsure or don’t have the time to do it yourself.
4. Refinish Your Tub
Your love your bathtub, but it’s seriously showing its age. It’s old, cracked, and just an ugly color. Do you have to replace the whole thing though? Not at all. If you love the tub but just want to update it, you can refinish it instead.
This is a process that takes a few days to complete but really gets good results. You can refinish that tub so the surface is brand new, and the color you want it to be. The new finish will last for years to come, so you can have a whole new tub without actually having to replace it at all.
5. Choose Recycled Counter Tops
One of the greatest eco-friendly bathroom remodeling tips is reducing your environmental impact is to choose the recycled option for your bathroom. It’s very easy to get recycled countertops for your bathroom, and they’ll look just as good as brand new ones. Many homeowners like to go with recycled glass, as it’s tough and looks good in most bathrooms.
Recycled woods also offer a rustic or industrial look, depending on how you implement them. This will also save you cash too, as you’re buying something that isn’t brand new.
6. Paint the Tiles
Re-tiling is an expensive and intensive job. You’ve got to pull all of the existing tiles off the wall before you can clean the wall off and start installing new ones. Meanwhile, all those old tiles end up in landfills. What if your tiles are still in perfect condition? They don’t match your new color scheme, but you can fix that.
It’s possible to paint your new tiles, making them match up with the new look without ever having to remove them from the wall. This is something it’s best to have an expert handle, as they can etch and paint the tiles safely. Once it’s done though, those tiles will look brand new.
7. Pick Water Saving Fixtures
If you’re replacing fixtures in your bathroom, you can buy ones that save a huge amount of water. For example, an old toilet can use up to 7 gallons of water per flush, but a new dual flush toilet only uses 1.6 gallons a time. Newer shower heads and faucets also work to reduce water consumption, but you’ll see the same amount of performance from them.
You can also look into installing gray water systems. Gray water is water that has been used for washing or showering and is still perfectly good for irrigating your yard. Set up your bathroom to pipe gray water out to be used again, and you’ll save a huge amount of water every year.
8. Pick More Efficient Lighting
Lighting is important in your bathroom. You get ready for the day in there, and you need to be able to see clearly while you’re putting on your makeup and doing your hair. There are ways of lighting your bathroom that is ecologically friendly. You can look into installing a skylight or solar tube in order to let in natural light. These work really well and don’t compromise on privacy.
You can also pick more environmentally friendly lighting options, such as LED lights. Look for energy ratings that are higher than most, which should be on the box of your light bulb. This will tell you how energy efficient they are.
Conclusion
These are eight great ways of eco-friendly bathroom remodeling tips. Recycle whatever you can, use materials that are more sustainable, and think about how your choices will affect the planet. Your bathroom will look great, and it won’t have to cost the earth, either literally or figuratively.