Water Saving Devices for Your Kitchen and Bathroom
Written by Marcy Tate
According to the EPA, the average American family of four uses about 400 gallons of water a day at home. The bathroom uses the most amount of water, almost 27% of the total is toilet usage and 16.8% is from shower usage. Faucets account for 15.7% of a home’s water usage. There are ways to help you conserve water at home: changing your water usage habits or install water-saving plumbing devices in your kitchen and bathrooms. Water-saving devices can be installed in toilets, showerheads and faucets. These devices are inexpensive and easy to install.
Low Flow Showerheads
Low-flow showerheads can significantly reduce your household water consumption. “Low flow” is generally defined as a showerhead with a water consumption rate of 0.5 to 2 gallons per minute (gpm). This is much less than the 4-5 gpm that conventional showerheads deliver.
There is a wide range in price for low-flow showerheads, starting at $15 and rising to over $300 for luxury-designed showerheads with extra features (such as massage and speed features).
- Oxygenics SkinCare Showerhead
Price:$20-$35
This low flow showerhead has received some great reviews by homeowners. It is available in three finishes: sleek chrome, classic chrome & gold and brilliant gold. It delivers only 1.5 gallons of water per minute while delivering an oxygenated flow of steady water. It has a comfort control lever on the side, allowing the user to select a spray level ranging from brisk to soft. - Bricor
Price: $60-$80
Bricor makes the ultimate low flow showerhead. Its B100 ULTRA MAX showerhead delivers as little as 0.5025 gpm. Bricor also manufactures other low-flow showerheads, including a selection of low-flow hand-held showerheads. Many of their showerheads are available in various finishes, including polished brass and charcoal, satin nickel and antique brass. - Kohler
Price: $85
Kohler, one of the most trusted names in bathroom products, offers several low flow showerheads. One of the best, and most affordable, is the Forté 1.75 gpm showerhead. This showerhead is available in polished chrome and provides a three-function spray.
Dual-Flush Toilets and Devices
There are two ways to make your toilet more water efficient: Replace it with a new dual-flush toilet, or install a dual-flush device. Dual-flush toilets, also known as water-saving toilets, are available from most toilet manufacturers.
Dual-flush toilets provide two flushing options: full flush or half flush. The full flush typically uses 1.6 gallons and the half flush uses about .8 gallons. Many dual flush toilets, such as the Power Assisted – Power Lite by Kohler, can save an average household approximately 2,000 gallons of water each year.
- Kohler
Price: $350
The Escale dual-flush toilet tank by Kohler is pricey, but it’s worth the investment. You will see a quick a return on your money from this toilet. The tank is used along with the K-3588 Escale elongated toilet. - Toto
Price: $350-$530
Toto is one of the leaders in water efficient toilet technology. All of the company’s toilets are regarded as top-quality, water-saving products. The Eco Drake Toilet – 1.28 gpf (gallons per flush) is the least expensive model. It costs about $350. - Brondell
Price: $75 and up
Brondell manufactures several toilet products from a deodorizing toilet seat to a dual-flush adapter. The adapter is a new product, on the market for just a year. It has received great reviews. The adapter can be installed on top of the toilet tank in less than 30 minutes. It fits onto over 90% of existing toilet fixtures. This is the perfect option for homeowners who do not need to replace their toilets.
Low-Flow Faucet Aerators
Faucet aerators are tiny screens that cost no more than $10. They decrease the amount of water flowing out of the faucet. Without an aerator, the water gushes out in a strong, single flow. An aerator spreads the flow, which saves water. Low-flow aerators reduce the gallons of water delivered per minute to 0.5 or 1 gpm. Low-flow aerators for kitchen faucets deliver a bit more water.
- Niagara Conservation Aerators
Price: Under $3
These low-flow sink aerators deliver just 0.5 gallons of water per minute. They are better suited for bathroom faucets. - Deluxe Flip Aerator
Price: $6.00
The deluxe flip aerator is a good option for a kitchen sink faucet. It is unlike other aerators as it has an on/off control lever. The lever allows you to temporarily slow the flow of water. It delivers 2.5 gpm.
What do you think? Any water saving devices in your home?
Marcy Tate is a home improvement blogger at Networx. She is also a featured author at Plumbing Networks.
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5 Responses to Water Saving Devices for Your Kitchen and Bathroom
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January 7th, 2010 2:18 pm
Thanks! Not only big savings improvement for my budget but helping to conserve water too. Fab!
January 7th, 2010 3:03 pm
Kohler while nice, is at the bottom of my list. They are proprietary and hard to get parts for. An example is the flapper in their toilets. It is a non standard size and “universal” repair kits do not work.
Having just installed a couple of these in the last year, I was dismayed by the finish,(chunky) which for the money they are asking should have shone like a jewel.
You cannot walk into the blue or orange store for replacement parts even for the stocking items. Most folks are not familiar with parts wholesale houses, and in a lot of cases they do not take retail orders.
As for showers, give me a WaterPik shower massager every time. 20-30 bucks and even with heavy mineral water like in Phoenix , removal for either cleaning or replacement is a snap.
January 7th, 2010 3:12 pm
Alan, that is good information, thank you. It’s disappointing to hear that Kohler parts are so hard to find. I have actually heard that about some of their products, but the two toilets mentioned here have gotten better reviews than some of their other products. Hopefully homeowners won’t need to look for replacement parts on these toilets.
January 8th, 2010 8:33 am
Marcy,
Yes it sucks when you think that dollar amount equates with durability. Not looking to repair and parts availability in purchases especially in remodeling is short sighted and usually results in replacement because parts are not available. For manufacturers this is of course a good thing to sell the latest version of the same product, but do you really want to spend a lot of time replacing fixtures rather than living? How many toilets do you want to buy in your lifetime?
You should remodel to please yourself, not to make some real estate agents job easier.
Part of that meme comes from the lunacy that your house is an asset on a spreadsheet rather than the home that you live in. You know, buy, remodel, sell, buy, remodel, sell. Thinking that you will increase your lifestyle with every transaction. The last 24 months should wake you up. The only people seeing benefits here are Real Estate Agents, Banks, and home improvement stores. Your quality of life doesn’t improve, your neighborhood isn’t stable, and if your neighbors are doing the same thing, you don’t know them either.
Another part of spreadsheet/design crowd is the ‘contemporary’ buzzword. Take stainless steel appliances. The beauty is only skin deep. The guts are no better, longer lasting, or improved in any measurable sense. In most cases, there are lots of models that are differentiated by finish only, and have the same parts inside.
Durability is another measure that manufacturers do not emphasize for good reason. “Durable Goods” in the US are products that are built to last 3 years. 3 years doesn’t come close to paying off your remodeling loans. When manufacturers offer extended warranties before you leave the store, you should think about it long and hard. They are usually worth the money unless you are an appliance repairman. But you have to stop and think for a moment…why are they offering them in the first place?
True story. When my ex and I split we went to a ‘Maytag Store’ and bought a bunch of appliances. 2 side by side refer/freezers(same model), hers needed the compressor replaced after 2 1/2 years, mine after 3 years. She bought ‘Neptune’ model washer and dryer, and had more than a dozen service calls to replace parts. My washer was a non electronic knob type, ‘commerical’ grade, which required the main bearing set replaced after 4 years. Mind you I do only 2 loads a week.
Price or finish rarely equates to quality.
January 13th, 2010 10:15 am
Another pretty good shower head is made by Danze; the company I work for, EnergyCircle.com has a store and sells it. I recently had a chance to try it, and liked it a lot.
I have reviewed a few shower heads on my personal blog, FivePercent.us, and was pretty surprised at the difference in price and quality of low-flow showerheads. Some are pretty bad. We currently use a variant of the Oxygenics you wrote about, and my wife and I love it; my 12-year-old son preferred the Evolve RoadRunner. Another cool one for a good shower on the cheap is the HighSierra FCS.
Finally, it’s worth checking out the GreenGear blog — he has reviewed a bunch of low-flow shower heads (and likes the Bricor, too).
In the end, there are finally a lot of really good options out there on the market — comfort and low water together!
Tom