When thinking of ways our lives impact the environment, most people often worry about their carbon footprint, recycling habits, and other common concerns. While it may surprise you, one area of your home that can have a dramatic impact on the environment is your plumbing system. Thankfully, there is a recent trend among plumbing companies to adopt more eco-friendly technology and most of these solutions are widely available.

Low Flow Toilets

Toilets use a serious amount of water, accounting for about 30 percent of all home water usage. Plumbing companies have taken notice and have increasingly moved towards the installation of low flow toilets. These environmentally friendly alternatives work just as well as older models but use anywhere between two to five times less water per flush, an impressive savings of water that quickly adds up throughout the year.

Sustainable Landscaping

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a healthy, green lawn and backyard, but irrigating your property can take a significant amount of water. This is especially true during low rainfall periods, to the point that many towns across the country periodically reduce or outlaw the use of sprinklers and other lawn irrigation. Plumbing companies have found an eco-friendly answer to this in the form of grey water irrigation systems. These systems save water from tubs, showers, sinks, and other fixtures that, while not suitable for drinking, can be cleaned and recycled to hydrate the grass and shrubs that adorn your property.

Better Faucets and Showers

Toilets aren’t the only offenders when it comes to wasting water. Whether in the kitchen or the bathroom, old, inefficient water fixtures waste gallons of water each year, negatively impacting both the environment and your water bill. For example, older shower heads can go through nearly three gallons of water in as little as 60 seconds. Eco-friendly shower heads and faucets not only save water, but provide the same level of water pressure, allowing you to wash your hands, hair, or dishes just as effectively without unnecessarily wasting water.

Efficient Appliances

While upgrading your kitchen faucet is a start, dishwashers and other appliances hooked up to your home’s plumbing can also waste significant amounts of water. Just as water fixtures have been improved, so too is the market ripe with eco-friendly appliances that use less water to accomplish the same job. Energy efficient washing machines and dishwashers are designed to get the most use out of every drop of water and incorporate more effective heating components to increase the water’s temperature while using less energy.

Secure Pipes

Whether by leaking grey water into the soil or poorly retaining temperature, the pipes that provide water to the various parts of your home are the most important area to consider when decreasing the environmental impact of your plumbing. Modern pipes use more effective insulation that prevents heat loss as the water travels from the boiler to its destination, thereby requiring the use of less energy overall. Likewise, this insulation makes cracking of pipes during winter less likely, thus preventing leaks of grey water into the surrounding soil.

Do Your Part

Protecting the environment takes group effort. While plumbing companies like Rakeman Plumbing provide the tech and installation skills needed to update your home, it’s your responsibility to identify areas of your property’s plumbing that could benefit from eco-friendly alternatives. Simply add upgrades incrementally and before long you’ll be doing your part to preserve nature while still living comfortably