An excellent plumbing system in Minneapolis, MN makes a home conducive for safe and healthy living. Something as simple as a drain cleaning service can quickly improve a poorly maintained plumbing system. Offering revolutionary services that keep plumbing systems in the best possible condition, modern plumbing companies have made significant advances in plumbing technology. Ensuring safe and clean water, a plumbing system should be carefully maintained to provide the highest quality water possible for whatever purpose it is needed.
In addition to a functional plumbing system, environmental impact needs to be considered. Green plumbing strategies work to help homeowners have a more Earth-conscious approach to living. Incorporating the concept of environmental impact into your day-to-day lifestyle, a “green home” is not complete without environmentally friendly plumbing. Reducing community energy usage and water consumption, green plumbing creates healthier homes.
With an abundance of new technology and constant technological advancements, improved eco-friendly plumbing options, such as a drain cleaning service, are continuously arriving on the market. Green plumbing approaches are cost-effective, eco-friendly, and easy to implement. Working to create a “green home” environment in Minneapolis, MN, there are a variety of improvements that can be made to a home that will instantly promote an eco-friendly lifestyle.
1. Low-flow Toilets
Toilets are a purposeful object, as well as a decorative fixture. Used daily, toilets must be maintained continuously. Once your drains are clear, often after using a drain cleaning service, reducing the water flow of a toilet is the best way to minimize daily water usage. Installing low-flow toilets instantly reduces the amount of water needed to flush. It also allows you to customize each flush.
A popular eco-friendly toilet model is the dual-button toilet. This type of toilet is designed with a dual-flush. The dual-flush allows a user to choose between two options during flushing, each option using different amounts of water. Generally, one flush option is for liquid waste, which often requires minimal water consumption, and the second option is for solid waste, which often requires increased water consumption.
Taking control of your home’s water consumption, focus on clearing drains with a drain cleaning service and, subsequently, installing low-flow toilets. One of the most utilized fixtures in a bathroom and overall home, toilets account for significant water usage. Choose a green plumbing approach to your bathroom by installing low-flow toilets. With customizable flush settings, eco-friendly toilets, such as the dual-button toilet, significantly reduce day-to-day water consumption.
2. Low-flow Showerhead
Like toilets, showerheads are another popular bathroom fixture that uses a home’s plumbing system. Also, like toilets, there are numerous low-flow options available for showerheads. Taking up about a quarter of a household’s water consumption, showering is often performed daily or multiple times a day. A low-flow showerhead can instantly decrease water usage by around 40% of previous water usage.
If your drains are clear, often after using a drain cleaning service, a high-quality low-flow showerhead offers multiple water pressure levels. Some have flow restrictors that can be completely removed or reversed to allow for pressure changes. Allowing a homeowner to achieve the right level of pressure for their shower, the increased control significantly reduces water consumption.
One popular type of low-flow showerhead is non-aerating. This type of showerhead restricts water flow by squeezing it through small holes. Either a strong water splash is created or a targeted massaging water force. Another popular type of low-flow showerhead is aerating. This type of showerhead uses water mixed with oxygen to offer a softer, more bubbly effect. No matter the low-flow showerhead chosen, installing and using this type of showerhead, after using a drain cleaning service, will save you gallons of water over time and will reduce the energy consumption needed to heat the water.
3. Demand-type Water Heater
Hot water is generally necessary for comfortable living in every Minneapolis, MN home. After using a drain cleaning service, the way water is heated within a home should be considered. A must-have, a water heater is one of the main home appliances that increases a home’s energy consumption and energy bill. A popular technological advancement, demand-type or tankless water heaters instantly reduce energy consumption and corresponding energy bills.
Without using a storage tank, a tankless or demand-type water heater draws cold water in through a pipe when a hot water tap within the house is turned on. The water is heated with a gas burner or by an electric heating element. Typically, this type of water heater delivers around 2-5 gallons of water per minute. In contrast, there is often a long wait for a tank heater to fill up with water and heat up.
Demand-type or tankless water heaters offer many advantages. In addition to a drain cleaning service, a demand-type water heater is a great approach to bringing a clean, eco-friendly water flow into your home. Significantly reducing energy losses, tankless water heaters are compact in size and take up much less space compared to conventional tank heaters. Working to reduce a home’s water consumption and energy usage, a demand-type water heater is a necessity for every environmentally conscious home.
4. Check for Leaks
A quality drain cleaning service will focus on thoroughly checking for pipe leaks. Drains will also be cleaned, further making any possible pipe leaks more noticeable. A basic, yet effective method for minimizing excessive water consumption, checking for pipe leaks protects a home’s plumbing system from damage and deterioration. Correcting any pipe leaks will also instantly reduce a home’s water consumption and water bill.
A pipe leak often indicates water loss. Water loss translates to increased water consumption and, ultimately, an increased water bill. Regularly checking a home’s toilets, showerheads, faucets, and pipes for leaks helps avoid unnecessary water consumption. Often overlooked, leaks that are not detected can use up gallons of water per day. Depending on the size or location of a leak, water loss can go undetected for years.
A simple way to determine if anything is leaking in your home is to check your water meter before and after a significant period when you are not consuming any water. If the meter remains unchanged, while not using water, then you most likely do not have a leak. For a more in-depth check, hire a plumbing service or drain cleaning service to properly check all pipes. Clean and solid pipes work to provide the best possible water to your home, while keeping your water bill tailored to the precise amount of water your home uses.
5. High-efficiency Faucets
Another bathroom and kitchen fixture that directly impacts a home’s water usage is a faucet. Used on a day-to-day basis for everything from washing hands to washing dishes, household faucets can impact both your water consumption and water bill. While doing a simple activity, such as brushing your teeth, a faucet is often left running. This unconscious behavior results in unnecessary water wastage.
After using a drain cleaning service, changing faucet habits is the first step to creating a more environmentally conscious home and lifestyle. The second step is installing high-efficiency faucets. A high-efficiency faucet combines water and air through an aerator. Maintaining stable water pressure, water flow is reduced. Most users do not notice a difference when switching to high-efficiency faucets. However, they do notice a difference in their water bill.
If a home has older, inefficient faucets it is estimated that more than 2.5 gallons of water are used per minute when a faucet is turned on. High-efficiency faucets will instantly reduce the water flow rate to less than 1.5 gallons per minute. Conserve and protect Minneapolis, MN‘s critical water supply, while reducing your utility bills, by using a drain cleaning service and switching to high-efficiency faucets.
6. Minimize Shower Time
Most people enjoy showering on a more or less, daily basis. However, some get carried away while showering and do not acknowledge water wastage. While showering, a showerhead is continuously running and continuously pushing out water. Some leave the shower running while they perform other tasks throughout the bathroom, using up an unnecessarily large amount of water. This contributes to significant water consumption, even with low-flow showerheads.
Work to make your shower as enjoyable as possible by hiring a drain cleaning service. Once your pipes and drains are clean, enjoy your clean and clear water, while being mindful of your water usage. Whether you are shampooing, brushing your teeth, shaving, or some other activity, turn the showerhead down or off till water is needed. Mindful water usage in the shower can impact and improve Minneapolis, MN’s water supply, as well as your home’s water consumption and your home’s water bill.
7. Avoid Flushing Trash
A common bad habit, flushing tissue or trash down the toilet results in water wastage. Disposable materials or objects, like makeup wipes, tissues, and more should go in a garbage bin, not a toilet. Each time you flush trash down a toilet you are both wasting water and creating possible plumbing issues. One of the most common causes of plumbing issues, often requiring a drain cleaning service, flushing trash down the toilet can contribute or cause blocked drains and pipe deterioration.
Another issue that can arise from regularly flushing trash is the need for pipe relining. Plumbing systems are not meant to handle various forms of trash, leading to decay when trash is flushed. Pipe relining or complete pipe replacement is needed when pipes break down beyond simple repair. Avoid flushing anything other than human waste and toilet paper to maintain low water consumption and to prevent unnecessary and costly plumbing repairs.
8. Conscious Grooming
In addition to using a drain cleaning service and installing low-flow bathroom fixtures, environmentally conscious grooming habits should be developed and maintained. There are many ways a Minneapolis, MN household can work to develop good grooming habits that directly result in lower water consumption. Using low lathering shampoos and soaps are a great way to reduce the time it takes to wash your hair and body. Turning off the tap while washing hands or while brushing teeth is another great way to reduce water wastage. It may take time to correct grooming habits, but doing so can contribute significantly to decreasing overall water consumption.
9. Reduce Laundry
Doing laundry is a major water-consuming task. Fortunately, there are many ways to reduce water consumption when doing laundry. After using a drain cleaning service, upgrading to an energy efficient washing machine can save thousands of gallons of water per year. Some less costly, simpler ways to reduce laundry-related water consumption includes reusing towels, running full loads, skipping the extra rinse cycle, and taking advantage of a washing machine’s cycle size options. Work on improving your laundry habits to create a more environmentally conscious home.
10. Whole-home Water Filters
Maintaining the health of your home’s plumbing system and water quality, a whole-home filter can reduce microbial pathogens, hard water, and toxins. Clean water flows through pipes more easily and does less damage to your overall plumbing system. Clean water also encourages less water consumption because the water is much more effective. A drain cleaning service can help you detect problematic water, guiding you towards which whole-home water filter is best for you.
One popular kind of whole-home water filter is a heavy-duty filtration system. This type of system focuses on high-performance, but can be costly to install. Another popular kind of whole-home water filter is a standard capacity water cartridge. This type of system focuses on affordable installation, but can be costly to maintain. Keeping your water clean, a whole-home water filter is one of the best ways to protect your health and the health of your home’s plumbing. Enjoy clean water, while reducing water consumption, with a whole-home water filter.
Small changes to your Minneapolis, MN home can make a big impact to your overall water consumption. Working to create an environmentally conscious home and lifestyle, there are several steps you can take to improve your plumbing system, maintain its health, and reduce its usage. Eco-friendly innovations, such as tankless water heaters, whole-home water filters, low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets, are a great way to upgrade your home and reduce your household water consumption. Additionally, taking the initiative to minimize shower time, avoid flushing trash, and practice conscious grooming and laundry are excellent methods for lowering water wastage. Whether in need of a drain cleaning service or other plumbing issue, choose Paul Bunyan Plumbing & Drains for all your plumbing needs.
