Green Bathroom Remodeling Tips

I found it interesting to learn that there is a great deal more to a green bathroom remodel than stopping dripping faucets and eliminating the use of toxic chemicals. Building and remodeling with the idea of designing for accessibility, ergonomic design, and adaptability also figure into the big picture of environmentally friendly or green housing.

Universal design refers to making your home convenient, efficient, and safe for family members of all ages. Designing for accessibility and ergonomic efficiency supports the tenants of green building as it makes your home “people-friendly.”

These approaches are more eco-friendly, because they mean that you will not have to remodel your home again as you age, if your health deteriorates, or if you are in an accident. Small changes in your remodel design will not add much to your total cost but will make your home more adaptable and that will save resources in the long run.

If you are not familiar with universal design it will help if you try to imagine what it would be like if you were confined to a wheelchair or had to use a walker. With this perspective in mind take a look at your bathroom when you consider what you want to do in regards to green bathroom remodeling. Remember that an accessibility design not only increases the quality of your life, with little additional resource demand, but it ultimately means that you can stay in your own home as you age. Accessibility also influences the quality of the environment, making resources and energy intensive remodeling projects unnecessary later on. Designing for longevity is central to the issue of sustainability and should be considered in a green home remodel.

Here are some examples that pertain specifically to the bathroom: --Make sure your bathroom is large enough so that a person in a wheelchair can transfer to the bathtub or toilet easily.

--Install grab bars. Don’t worry--grab bars do not have to look like something lifted from a hospital or nursing home setting.

--Consider a raised bathtub as part of your green bathroom remodel. (If your tub were raised up 3-4 inches it would better align with wheel chair seats.)

--Add longer showers for easy access and shower stall floors that are flush with the bathroom floor.

--If your bathroom sink is at wheelchair height with ample room under the counter it will save you from having to remodel later in life.

Remodeling your whole bathroom to this degree is probably more than you had in mind, but it is worth it if you are living in the home you want to spend the rest of your life in.

If you're not ready for such a commitment, You can start "getting green" slowly by incorporating non-toxic and energy saving practices right now:

--Have you ever thought that just buying bath linens made from organic cotton was a green practice? Less pesticide use, natural dyes and softeners are gentle and less toxic to the environment.

--Replace vinyl shower curtains with heavy cotton duck. Those plastic shower curtains contain PVC which is a hormone disrupter and can be quite toxic (and here I thought that was just the way plastic curtains were supposed to smell).

--Natural bath products are friendlier to the skin and don’t contain toxic air pollution.

Water conservation is pretty easy to understand and is an important element in a green bathroom remodel. Be sure to incorporate all of the indoor and outdoor water saving techniques that you can.

--A low-flow showerhead can reduce water consumption by 30% and still give you a pressurized spray.

--Installing water efficient toilets, showerheads and faucets can make significant inroads into daily household water usage. Older toilets use as much as 5 gallons per flush, compared to new more efficient models.

--A gray-water converter (I can remember my mother doing this back in the days of wringer type washing machines) diverter saves the water used from the shower or bath to a collection container and can be used for watering your garden.

--Insulating your water heater and lowering the thermostat to 120 degrees makes a difference in the amount of energy used to heat your water.

Look for recycled building products when remodeling your bathroom:

--Recycled wood, recycled glass tile and recycled light fixtures make for a green bathroom since few new resources are needed to create the items.

--Look for recycled glass, ceramic or porcelain tiles.

--Consider linoleum made from wood flour, resins and linseed oil rather than toxic vinyl flooring.

--For vanities and cabinets look for products made of sustainably harvested woods, or rapidly renewable materials like bamboo, wheat straw or sunflowers.

--Get rid of harsh chemicals and look for environmentally friendly cleaning products.

The bathroom is one of the best places to start when the remodeling bug bites you. The room is small but essential and one of the best places to incorporate green remodeling designs.

Further reading: The New Ecological Home: A Complete Guide to Green Building Options by Daniel d. Chiras

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