From Guest Blogger Nadav Ziv: Simple Green Fixes for the Average Home

The environment is declining, natural resources are on the fall, global warming has become a tangible phenomena and yet there are many simple steps that we can take in order to stem and reverse the ill-effects that we have on the climate of the world. These steps can be taken at home and can help in reducing the carbon footprint of a house and also in keeping the bills in check.

Let us start with steps that can be taken in that all important of places, the bathroom.

Showers

Every homeowner should try low-flow shower heads. These products have undergone massive improvements over the past few years and are now available at all hardware and home improvement

stores. They are cheap and very easy to install and can help save a lot of water.

Average shower heads utilize up to four to six gallons of water a minute. Low-flow shower heads utilize only a gallon and a half or two gallons of water a minute. Thus, in a year, a family of four can save almost eighteen thousand gallons of water and thus not have to pay for the energy that would have been required to heat those thousands of gallons of water over the year. Other steps such as reducing the shower time and turning off the water while applying shampoo or shaving can also have remarkable effects. Some of the apartments listed on TellaVista.com come with energy efficient toilets which reduce energy cost and consumption.

One should also use water-resistant shower curtains instead of vinyl curtains, install glass door systems as plastic curtains are not recyclable and add to landfill.

Flush Systems

There are now toilets which utilize only two gallons of water per flush. There are also dual flush systems which have two buttons. One for small flushes which releases only .9 gallon of water and one for big flushes which release 1.6 gallons of water.

Care should also be taken to fix a leaking toilet as they can waste more than two hundred gallons of water a day. The apartment booking engine TellaVista.com features apartments which have their plumbing thoroughly checked for inconsistencies.

If every person in North America used one less gallon of water per day, then they would save over a hundred billion gallons of water a year. That is enough water to supply the entire populace of Mozambique for five years.

Sink Sensibilities

Turning off the faucet while brushing seems like something old people keep reminding young ones to do but they can save almost forty eight gallons of water a day. Water should be turned on during shaving only when rinsing the razor. A better solution would be to rinse the razor with warm water kept in a cup.

An almost too easy step towards conservation is to brush while the water for shaving warms up, this can save almost two thousand gallons of water a year. To put things into perspective, that is enough to fill a bath tub thirty five times.

If one can, they should also avoid using disposable razors as they add to landfill. More than two billion disposable razors are sent to landfills annually. One should seek more permanent solutions such as single-bladed razors without any plastic packaging.

Moving on now to the kitchen and the infamous, Refrigerator

The refrigerator is the appliance which consumes the most amount of energy in an average kitchen as it is switched on for twenty four hours of all seven days of the week. Keeping the refrigerator on warmer setting does not really affect the standards condiments in the fridge other than resulting in ice cream which becomes slightly softer.

There are a few tips to save energy through intelligent usage.

1. One should know what one needs before they open the fridge door. Raiding fridges and gazing at what’s inside can cost almost sixty dollars a year.
2. Hot food should be put through a cold water bath or left outside in cold weather before refrigerating it in order to reduce the amount of energy required to cool it.
3. Keeping the refrigerator and freezer filled also helps in saving energy as less cooling escaper the fridge each time the doors are opened.
4. Food should also be defrosted in the refrigerator as it helps in lowering the temperature of the refrigerator.
5. Ensure that the doors are sealed properly. There is an easy test to ensure this. Place a currency note or a piece of paper and shut the door on the paper. If the paper or note can be pulled out easily, that means the doors do not have proper sealing and need to be serviced or replaced.
6. The refrigerator should never be kept jammed against a wall. There should be a minimum of four inches of space between the refrigerator and the wall in order to allow for proper airflow.
7. Extra refrigerators placed in garages or basements should be unplugged and automatic ice makers should also be removed when not being used.

Bio:

Nadav Ziv is the co-founder of an apartment booking engine called TellaVista. Nadav has been vocal regarding the need of all homeowners to shift towards green living and has advocated the use of eco-friendly materials and techniques that reduce the carbon footprint of a home. He offers his opinions and advice on the internet on matters pertaining to green homes and their ancillaries.