(BPT) – With Earth Day just around the corner, have you done a home health check to make sure you aren’t wasting water? Some easy upgrades can help you to kick water-guzzling fixtures to the curb and start saving water and money.
1) Toilets: Install a high-efficiency toilet that flushes with 1.28 gallons or less. Unfortunately, many homes still use toilets that consume 3.5 gpf. Most toilets are labeled with their water use, so check in and around the tank to make sure you have 1.28 or less.
If an average family of four swaps out a 3.5 gpf toilet for a high-efficiency 1.28 gpf toilet, they can save 16,500 gallons per year. And that adds up to a lot of money saved.
2) Showers: Replace an old showerhead with a low-flow showerhead that uses 1.75 gpm versus the standard flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute. Installing water-conserving showerheads or handshowers cuts the flow rate to 1.75 gpm — a 30% water savings. Newer showerheads offer models that boost the water droplets with air to give you a great coverage, and some even bring a next-level showering experience with integrated speakers, like the KOHLER Moxie Showerhead + wireless speaker.
3) Faucets: Change the faucet aerator — possibly the easiest and the least expensive health check! Aerators are small collar-like applications attached to a faucet, containing a fine mesh grid that allows air to be mixed with the solid stream of water. The water pressure remains the same, but the actual volume of water is reduced — the more air introduced into the water stream, the more water saved.
To change a standard faucet aerator, simply unscrew the 2.2 gpm aerators on your faucets and replace them with more efficient 1.5 gpm aerators. With this one-step installation, you can save 30% of the water used.
When shopping for fixtures that will save water, look for the WaterSense logo. The Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program helps to identify quality high-efficiency toilets and faucets that also meet strict flushing and flow-rate performance guidelines. Shop around for great deals this Earth Day, like the 25% off WaterSense products on Kohler.com. Upgrade your home’s water health and start saving money and the Earth this year.
