9 Ideas For An Earth Friendly Bathroom

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In our bathrooms, we often want to relax in a little luxury; hot baths, essential oils and ambient candles. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it is important that we consider how earth friendly our bathroom spaces really are.

1.Water-saving fixtures
To save water, while still enjoying your bathroom, water-saving showerheads are the perfect fixture. Water-saving showerheads restrict the amount of water you’ll use by up to half, yet you’ll still get a lovely shower experience. These handy showerheads come in two types. The first is called a ‘non-aerating showerhead’, which uses tiny holes to squeeze out the water. The second option is called an ‘aerating showerhead,’ which mixes water and air to provide a restricted flow. Another way that you can save water in your bathroom is to opt for a water-saving toilet. For instance, dual flush toilets use less water, plus they converse water by offering two different flush volumes (low volume or full).

2. Green-cleaners
The chemicals used to make conventional cleaning products can have adverse effects on both our health and the planet. For a more eco-conscious and healthy solution, many brands have responded with green-cleaning products. Seventh Generation, for example, offer products made solely from plant-based ingredients. To keep their products smelling lovely, they use various botanical extracts and essential oils. Better Life, is another great green-cleaning option, producing products using ingredients like soap bark and coconut.

3. Make your own
Instead of buying all of your bathroom products, a top green-solution is to make a few things of your own. For cleaning, you can make a nice DIY bathroom cleaner by mixing baking soda, white vinegar, and lemon juice. Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a spray bottle and use it on everything from your bathroom sink to your shower tiles. For a DIY natural shower gel, mix castile soap, honey, coconut oil, and essential oils. Castile soap is a vegetable-based soap with no synthetic ingredients or animal fats. It’s entirely non-toxic and biodegradable. 

4. Earth-friendly accessories
New accessories are a fast and expensive way to improve your bathroom. When you are purchasing new accessories, from your drapes to your bath mats and even toothbrushes, be sure to go earth-friendly. Hemp is one top material to purchase if your keen to go green. Hemp requires no chemical herbicides in the growth process. It also returns around 70% of the nutrients that it takes out of the soil. Hemp only requires a very small amount of water to grow (especially when compared with materials like cotton- which use up four times as much)! To create hemp into a fabric, a process called ‘retting’ is used, which again relies upon no chemicals. Next time you need some fabrics for your bathroom- choosing hemp would be a great sustainable choice.

5. Natural fixtures
If it’s been a while since you’ve had a remodel, perhaps your fixtures could do with an update. A good bathroom remodel contractor will be able to provide you with a range of options to beautify your bathroom. Consider natural stone fixtures like limestone, granite, or marble. While you’re at it, ensure that your light fixtures are energy saving. LED light bulbs are 90% more energy efficient when compared with traditional bulbs, plus they are durable, so they won’t need to be replaced so often.

6. Check your habits
For a more eco-friendly bathroom space, you’ve got to check your habits too.

Many of us love taking baths, but frankly, showers are actually the more eco-friendly option. According to a source in Stanford Magazine, a full bathtub uses 70 gallons of water, whereas a shower (for five minutes) uses up 10-25 gallons. Taking showers more frequently than baths can help you to save water, as can not filling up your bath entirely. Simple things like not leaving the tap running while you’re brushing your teeth can also help you to get into better water-saving habits. 

7. Decorate with plants
When the time comes to spruce up your bathroom, the most earth-friendly way that you can decorate is by buying yourself a plant or two. Gardenias, for instance, are a beautiful white-flowered plant which thrive in humid conditions like a bathroom space. The trick is to ensure that they get plenty of bright light. The Chinese evergreen is another plant that does well in a bathroom space. These plants don’t take a lot of maintenance, so are ideal if you’re prone to forgetting to water your plants! Just ensure that you keep them out of the way of cold drafts.

8. Use natural paint
When it’s time to give your bathroom a paint job, try choosing a natural paint. These paints are made using natural ingredients such as vegetable oils and milk protein. Due to the ingredients used, natural paints do not involve complex processing. Natural paints are void of the VOCs found in conventional paint products, instead, using safe and renewable resources. There are several great brands out there who offer natural paint products, one example being ‘Clare,’ a ‘greenguard gold certified’ brand that meets strict emission standards. ‘ Real Milk Paint’ is another popular natural paint brand with a huge range of bold colors. 

9. Recycle
Many of us tend to get through a lot of bathroom products, which is why it’s important to choose biodegradable and recycle everything. From your empty bottles to your cardboards from used up toilet rolls; ensure that all is correctly disposed of. To pursue a zero-waste lifestyle, try shopping at zero waste stores where you can refill single containers with products..Ensure that you are mindful in your purchases as buy only what you need. This doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve a few treats now and then, it’s just about ensuring that you are not creating waste, with products that remain unused.

Of course, earth-friendly habits aren’t just useful in your bathroom, but throughout your entire home. Whether it’s your kitchen or your garden space, consider how you could make a few simple changes towards a more sustainable life. It could be composting, solar appliances, or second-hand shopping; each contribution has value.