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Five Ideas to Remodel Your SoCal Home to Conserve Water

We know all about the drought and water shortages that have plagued California for a long time.

It is abundantly clear that we need to make some adjustments so we use less water without necessarily impacting our glorious lifestyle.

Here are some ideas for SoCal homeowners to remodel to save water.

Begin With the Bathroom

The bathroom is the obvious first place to remodel for saving water. There are so many great ideas and products out there. For example, start small and simple by installing automatic hands-free faucets. These are already standard issue in airports and restaurants. A hands-free faucet uses sensors to detect when your hands are under it and then turns the water on and off accordingly. This prevents us from running a tap when it’s not in use. Even something as simple as leaving the faucet running when brushing teeth can add up to thousands of gallons wasted every year in just one home. Then multiply that by millions of homes.

The next idea – that is already becoming the norm – is low-flow toilets. These are also called dual-flush toilets. Half flush for “number 1” makes for huge annual savings compared with the full flush of a 1.5 gallons or more each time.

Then there’s low-flow shower heads. This is another simple remodel to save water. You’ll conserve vast amounts of water and could even increase the pressure of your comfortable shower at the same time

Water Conservation in the Kitchen

The kitchen is another area where water gets used a huge amount and some simple remodeling can make great savings. Start by installing foot pedals that control how much water passes through taps and switch them off when the foot is released. Some can operate with a knee instead. They’re also great for hygiene.

Save Time Waiting for Hot Water

Running the faucet or shower and waiting for water to heat up is a leading cause of water waste in the average American home. A great solution is to install an on-demand recirculation pump. This works by pushing the cold water to the water heater via the cold water line before the faucet is turned on. It minimizes the wastage of cold water and ensures heated water is immediately available for showers, baths, hand washing and dish washing. In a water-starved place like Southern California, thousands of these devices will save millions of gallons.

Rainwater Tanks

When Mother Nature provides water, Californians should save it and use it, instead of letting it all disappear down drains. Install rainwater tanks to collect rainfall runoff from your roof. This sort of water-saving feature is a very simple remodel job, yet the water collected can be used for so many purposes – gardening, supplementing household supply, drinking water, you name it. Cut your bills and have more water at the same time.

Recycle Grey Water

Another simple remodel to save water involves recycling household grey water. A recycling system diverts drain water from showers, baths and sinks. It then treats that grey water and redistributes it throughout the home to be used for garden hoses, flushing toilets and for laundry. It’s a remodel that adds enormous value to a home, in addition to using precious water more efficiently.

 

For more great home remodeling solutions for saving water, contact experts in home design and construction for the best advice. Let’s keep SoCal’s most important resource from being washed away!

“Romney Tripp started construction in 1977 and formed RWT Design & Construction in 1992, eventually setting up the shop in Burbank. From the mid 1980’s Romney has been working on building recording studios as well as…” Read more.

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