4 Tips for Building a Green Bathroom Your Customers Will Love

Did you know that the average toilet uses around 33 gallons of water every day? This is 24% of the average family’s total water use. Public toilets consume a lot more water than that, since far more people are using them.

You have to do your part to protect the environment in every possible way. One of the ways to do this is by making your bathroom eco-friendlier.

Creating a Green Bathroom is More Important than Ever

We talked about the different ways construction companies can go green. However, other businesses need to do their part to redesign their buildings to be eco-friendlier.

Bathrooms are one of the most crucial parts of any building used by the public. Everyone needs them, and the state people find them in can influence how they view an establishment. Dirty, worn-out restrooms can make someone wrinkle their nose at the whole business. Meanwhile, other companies have built a name for themselves with clean, high-tech bathrooms.

However, bathrooms are also an enormous cost, both monetary and environmental. They waste large amounts of water and electricity every day, which can cause bills to skyrocket. Accessories and fixtures often end up in landfills after their lifespan.

Luckily, there are several great ways to be more environmentally conscious with your restrooms and potentially save money on bills. By looking at the materials you use, your fixtures, and your accessories, you can build a more eco-friendly bathroom that your customers will appreciate.

Recycled Bathroom Stall Materials

When building an environmentally friendly restroom, one of the first things to consider is your stalls. Bathroom stalls come in different materials, some of which are incredibly eco-friendly and can even help qualify your building for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification provided by the US Green Building Council. Three material types are notably environmentally friendly: Powder Coated Steel, HDPE Plastic, and Stainless Steel.

Powder Coated Steel has virtually zero emissions due to its unique coloring process. While typically thought of as a wasteful material, HDPE Plastic is relatively environmentally friendly. Manufacturers can create HDPE restroom stalls with 25% to 100% recycled materials, and they are 100% recyclable after their lifespan. Stainless Steel is one of the most eco-friendly materials as it is made of primarily recycled materials and is also 100% recyclable.

Water-Saving Toilets and Urinals

Another great way to build an environmentally friendly bathroom is to invest in toilets and urinals that use less water than their traditional counterparts. While there are some no-water fixtures, they may not be possible for some buildings due to legal requirements. Luckily, there are plenty of water-saving options available.

Older toilets can waste up to 6 gallons per flush, but several options can decrease this number. One option is a low-flow toilet that can cut the water used per flush as low as 1.28 gallons. A second option is a dual flush system that typically uses approximately 1.6 gallons to flush solid waste but can cut that number in half to flush liquid-only waste.

Urinals also come in low water usage and no-water usage options. By choosing these options while building, you can save on water bills for years to come and take part in reducing waste.

Low-Electricity Accessories

Decreasing electricity usage is another part of making an environmentally friendly restroom. A builder can do this with electricity-conscious lighting systems or bathroom accessories such as hand dryers.       

People often choose hand dryers over paper towel dispensers due to waste. There are two different types of hand dryers: manual and automatic. Automatic dryers are generally more environmentally friendly because they only activate whenever a person’s hands are within range of their sensors. Many brands specifically advertise their hand dryers as eco-friendly, citing they consume a certain percent less energy or emit only a certain amount of CO2. These can be great numbers to compare when picking hand dryers for your restrooms.

An excellent choice for an eco-friendly lighting system is motion-sensing lights. Bathrooms often have their lights constantly on, even at night when nobody is in the building, which can be an enormous waste of electricity. Luckily there are plenty of motion-sensing options that only turn on when there is someone in the restroom. Installing these lights during construction can save a lot of hard work trying to install them later.

Eco-Friendly Sinks & Counters

There are a couple of ways to make your sinks more environmentally friendly. For one, the materials can play a large part in keeping large sinks out of landfills. Stainless steel is an excellent option for environmentally-conscious builders. Its sleek look makes it a perfect design choice, while its recycled material and ability to be recycled make it an excellent choice for the environment.

But materials aren’t the only thing you can choose to make more eco-friendly restrooms. Another great option is motion-sensing sinks. These pieces have become more and more popular over the years because they reduce touched surfaces and keep people healthier. However, they also do their part in reducing water waste by only activating when they sense motion. These sensors prevent water from being wasted when someone reaches for soap, goes for paper towels, or even forgets to turn the sink off.

Build a Bathroom Customers and the Environment Will Love

You don’t have to sacrifice a great-looking bathroom to help the environment. There are actually a lot of simple changes to make a bathroom eco-friendly. Many of the most eco-friendly materials make great design choices that customers love. And energy and water-saving accessories and fixtures often incorporate the newest technology making them more efficient at what they do and helping them look great while doing it.

Whether you’re aiming for a building certification like LEED or want to help make the world more environmentally friendly, these tips are a great starting place. We hope you’ll give them a try as you build your vision into a reality.