Sustainable DIY Series: How to Install a Low Flow Shower Head

May 9, 2013 by / 4 Comments

Hey all my awesome RSS Readers.  If you’re using google reader, they are going to shut it down in mid june.  If you’re still interested in subscribing by RSS, Check out feedly, which is what I’ve switched too.  I’ve also got an email list, or you can like me on facebook or follow me on twitter.

A while ago, I did a poll on the site, trying to figure out how I could write content that was more relevant for you all – my awesome readers.  One of the thing you all were curious about was more DIY projects that could make you more sustainable around the house.  Since most of my projects recently have had nothing to do with sustainability (making a beer bottle crate, putting knobs on cabinets), I’ve been waiting to write something.

After a few weeks, an opportunity fell into my lap.  I got contacted by the people at Niagra Conservation, who asked if I would like a shower head to review.  I was slightly skeptical at first, because, who gives away a shower head? (and also because we just finished our upstairs bathroom, complete with a new shower head.  After a little inner reflection, some extra prodding from the company and talking with my dad, I decided that I had very little to lose so I told them yes.  I had initially offered it to my dad, but when I got it in the mail, I called him right away and told him that he’d have to get his own, because this thing looked awesome and I wanted to keep it.

Since the shower head in the upstairs bathroom is pretty new, I put it in our basement bathroom.  This was the better choice because the downstairs shower was pretty old, and used about 3.5 gallons per minute and wasn’t all that great.  It wasnt bad enough for us to replace it on our own, because as of now that shower is used pretty infrequently as it is.  However, it was free so I decided what the hey.  They estimate that you can save approximately 5,500 gallons of water per year, which is a lot of water and a big deal out here.  It could potentially save you even more if you have tiered water pricing like I do (where you pay more per gallon once you cross a threshold of water used for the month – ours is 6,000).  If you can stay in the first block of water usage, it could save you quite a bit of money.  Even if you’re already pretty good with you water bill wise, this will help you save even more water – always a good thing.

Sustainable projects like this are my favorite.  I can work for a bit once, and just keep reaping the benefits of saving water throughout the lifespan of the item with little fuss going forward.  It doesnt take constant maintenance or really any work in the future on our part, except cleaning at times.  This one was even better because the total time from start to finish was about 10 minutes.

One thing about this project – While this is low hanging fruit in that it’s relatively cheap to do and easy to do, it’s not going to save you a ton of water.  Things like a dishwasher and washing machine will save you more water, but cost a lot more money.  The frequency of use here is also something to consider, as in some households, a more efficient toilet will get you further.

Installing the Low Flow Shower Head

 

 

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This is what our downstairs bathroom looked like before I started.  This is the old shower head, which was pretty inefficient.  That’s not something that we want in the house, because it wastes so much water compared to what we put in there.  The first step in the process is to take off the old shower head.  Some are hand tightened so you can just used your hand, but mine was a little tighter so I used a pair of pliers to get the old one off.  Once the old one was off, it was time to prep the pipe for a new shower head.

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Once the old shower head was off, I got a wet rag and wiped off the remnants of the plumbers tape that was on there, as well as a little bit of junk that had gotten in the threads over the years.  Once that was all done, I took some nylon plumbers tape and wrapped it over the threads.  The new shower head said that you didnt have to do this, but because we had so many very small leaks during our upstairs plumbing I just went the safe route.  Once the tape is on if you choose to use it, you’re ready to put the new shower head on.

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Now it’s time to install the new shower head.  Take the shower head and screw it on to the pipe with your hands.  Make sure not to over tighten the shower head as you’re putting it on.  There’s no need for pliers for step, so just go easy on it and test it to make sure it doesnt leak.  Below is a picture of the shower head in action.

100_4278Bottom line: This shower head is pretty awesome.  It’s great that we are saving about a gallon per minute while showering with this shower head, and the pressure is great too.  I’ve heard the low flow shower heads described pretty poorly before, but that’s not the case for this one.  The rainfall is awesome, and it makes you feel like you are in a luxury hotel hotel when you’re showering with it.  I cant seem to find the exact one they gave me online, but I dont think that it will cost more than $40 at the store.  With the potential to save about 5,500 gallons per year, the paypack period will be pretty quick with this unit.  If you’re in the market for a new shower head (or just tired of your inefficient old one) give this a try.

Note: While they did give me this unit for free, it didnt influence my decision.  I wanted one of these style shower heads for the upstairs bathroom, but we couldnt find one that matched the fixtures for the sink and tub that we had already purchased.  

Readers:  How are your shower heads?  Do you have any that could be replaced, or are there other projects around the house that will save more water that you’re interested in tackling first?

 

Filed Under: Environment, sustainability  / Tagged: ,

Saving the Environment with Thin Plastic

July 22, 2010 by / 3 Comments

I am volunteering for the local rodeo this year (its my first time) and I’m pretty excited. Last night, while helping others build a fence around what will be a parking lot, someone brought us over a case of bottled water (it helped, it was almost 90 degrees). I looked over and saw a small trailer with at least 4-5 cubic feet of bottles on it (this is a big rodeo). I opened mine, sat down and started reading the label. The label pointed out some nice design changes they call “eco-shape”, which include a bottle made from lighter plastic for easy recycling, a smaller label that uses less trees to make the paper, and a smaller cap that uses less plastic as well. They tout all these as being “good for the environment”

And they are, in a sense.  Yes, using less paper and plastic is a good thing for the environment.  It will help our resources last longer, less pollution, blah, blah, blah.  The problems that I have with this are:

  1. They are not getting to the root of the problem
  2. People are buying it

The root of the problem is…

Consumption.  Plain and simple.  Instead of carrying around a water bottle (to save money or for your health), they want you to buy theirs.  It”s ok though, because they’ve done all they can to minimize the impact of the bottle, except ask you to get a re-fillable bottle that will end up in a landfill once every 3-5 years (just a guess) instead of after a few uses (at the most).  To get people to stop thinking about the fact that you’re still wasting things, they just design/sell eco-friendly bottles that you can still throw away.  Everyone wins! You get your water from a bottle and they get your money.

However, in typical american fashion, the real issue (using a crap-ton) of resources is more or less ignored, but some short and medium term issues are brought up (and resolved).  For the short and medium term, it’s still ok to buy and drink the water bottle and it’s actually good for the environment because it’s made with less plastic.  So instead of using a crap-ton of resources, we are now using .94 of a crap-ton of resources (which according to the ICUWOM – the International Committee for Unstandardized Weights and Odd Measures – a sister institute of the ICWM is exactly 1 butt-load), and consumption can now resume its  break-neck pace  unabated because we are considering the environment when buying this water — Just look at the package — it says its good!

Everyday, we (the american consumer) fall for this nonsense.   We go on thinking that we are doing right by the environment as we guzzle water from 1 time use bottles that are made from thinner, more earth friendly plastic so it’s ok.  It’s not.  According to the Food and Water Watch we are using 47 million gallons of oil to produce this plastic, and 1.5 million tons of waste.  Couple this with the fact that 2 of the largest bottled waters  (Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani) are just filtered municipal water, we are putting a lot of resources into making (and moving) this bottle of water.  Despite all this, we still gravitate towards the bottled water company that claims to be better for the Earth.

Unfortunately,

And this is really the rub, is that basically anything that you buy that says “we are a green product” is most likely not true.  Consuming anything (the way the current system works) is inherently not green.  Buying something means you are trading your resources (your time, in the form of cash) for the resources of something else.  There is not really a way for this to be friendly for either party unless it is held in check.  Consuming the stuff is bad for your wallet (many some  go into credit card or other types of high interest debt for it) and you’re depleting the resources used to make it.

The best way to ensure that resources will be there in the future (aka  sustainable) is to not use too many of them in the first place.

Getting to the root of the problem — We want our water in a bottle, but we want that bottle to be environmentally friendly. Even though arrowhead spent time/money engineering a bottle with thinner plastic and a smaller cap and are now calling it “green” it’s still not as green as buying a water bottle.

They are missing the point. You cant consume a crap-ton of stuff and still be green.  You cant spend in a frivolous manner and stay out of debt.  You can’t TV watch your way to good health.  All of these things are common goals of mine, and a lot of others.  Many times, we find our that our habits don’t line up with our goals.

They are in an inherent battle with each other.  Which will you choose?

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Water Economics

June 16, 2010 by / Leave a Comment

I’ve been browsing for more infographics (I really have a problem).  Recently, I found this one on water.  I tried to post it straight on the blog, but am limited by the theme I’ve currently got. While I continue to look into changing it, you can have a look at this sweet infographic.

http://www.visualeconomics.com/waterless-world-h2o-use-around-the-world_2010-04-15/

Personally, I was happy not to find the US at the top of another resource use chart.   Do you think there is a reason that Canada uses more water? Living where I do, water shocks and shortages are nothing new at all, and I’m not surprised to see that we are preparing for another one.

Sorry for the quick post today, the one I had planned to put up was not quite ready! Enjoy your wednesday!

A Few Yakezie Links:

Red Dives deeper into the rabbit hole that is her grandparents unfortunate financial situation.

Good Steward Keys wants to know if your financial past is holding you back

Eric at Narrow bridge is Preparing for a Layoff

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Health Tip: Get a Water Bottle

May 14, 2010 by / 4 Comments

That’s right.  It’s seemingly that simple.  Just get a water bottle and you’ll be healthier.  You’re thinking, yea, this guy is full of it, time to go read some real heath advice at webmd.com

Water Bottle

Photo Credit: Muffet

But I’m actually serious.

Now that the New Years Resolution Squad (NYRS) is out of the gym, after failing (for the 5th year in a row) to stick to the goal of going to the gym and losing weight, it’s time to break out some tips to help the person get on track in a fairly easy way and hopefully form a good habit that will aid them next January when they decide to go back to the gym and try to get fit/lose weight.

Getting yourself a water bottle is only the first step to this task, and the second one could prove far harder.  You actually have to fill it (with water) and drink out of it during the day.  I’d say the first place to start for this is to make sure you take it with you when you’re going to the office.  Personally, I fill up my water bottle before I leave in the morning, and drink the contents on my way to work (it’s about 25 oz).  Once I have it at the office, I keep it at my desk and have made it a habit to drink from it as much as possible.  I’d estimate that I drink at least 1.5 gallons of water between the hours of 5am & 5pm.  For those curious about how much to drink, 1 oz for every 2 lbs is a common metric.  If you’re not sure or dont want to calculate, try finishing your water bottle 4 times a day.  Now, I know what some of you are wondering…

What about my Coffee/soda/rockstar/green tea/other caffeine delivery vehicle?

I’m not suggesting you give up caffeine (not at this point anyway, that will make you hate my guts when you’re getting a pounding withdrawal headache and probably make the effort not worth it).  Keep your caffeine in the morning, but I’d suggest keeping your water nearby your coffee cup, and after you have a sip of coffee, have some water.  This will get you in the habit of reaching over and drinking some water during the day.

How will this help me stay healthy?

Great question.  Drinking water is a good way to lose weight, stay full, and help your body run more efficiently.  A well hydrated body will burn calories 3% faster and boost our metabolism.  Drinking water will also make you feel more energetic.

Along with that, it can lead to a sustained energy without the caffeine “crash” that one typically feels in the afternoon, usually remdied with, you guessed it, more caffeine.  By drinking water you’re crowding out room in your stomach for soda, which is full of sweeteners, sugars and other things that are of marginal benefit in moderation.  You’ll replace the sugars and sweeteners with good old H20.

Drinking Water before meals can also make you full

Yup, that’s right, just like swapping out the soda for water, you can fill up room in your stomach with water before you have lunch or dinner and not eat as much, lowering your caloric intake and (possibly) causing you to lose weight.

Now that you’re curious, here are some other benefits of drinking water

  • Regulate appetite
  • Boost Energy
  • Reduce high blood pressure & colesterol
  • Improve skin
  • Less likely to get sick
  • Ease Headaches

Keep in mind everyone, your body is 75% water and your brain is 90% water.   Keep both things hydrated and you’ll feel better, and even start to lose weight.

Filed Under: Health  / Tagged: , , , ,

Tips to save water around the house

May 5, 2010 by / 5 Comments

I’m not sure if I have lots of readers in the arid American southwest (or any at all anymore, due to my lack of posts), but my post on xeriscaping has been one of my more popular posts and I’ve been meaning to do a follow-up post on it for quite some time, but have not got around to it. First, I thought I’d share with you some ways to conserve water around the house.

You Wont Notice Until It's Almost All Gone

1) Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. This can potentially save you loads of money in a month, depending on your water utility. If you brush your teeth at home twice a day, turning off the water can keep you in a lower price bracket. (my utility charges a set amount for the first 1,000 gallons and a higher rate for gallons 1,001-2,000). If you turning off the water while brushing your teeth can keep you from going to a higher bracket you’ll save on gallons you use outside of teeth-brushing.
2) Consider how often you wash your clothes. If you wear a certain group of clothes only at the office and change upon returning home, those clothes may not need to be washed. (This depends on you, obviously they need to be washed if coffee is spilled on them, and hopefully you dont do that everyday). I have about 8 shirts that I wear to work, and barring a disaster, they get washed about once a month. This also prolongs the life of the clothing.

3) “If its yellow, let it mellow” Trent over at the simple dollar recently wrote a whole post (about toilet flushing !!!) And you can read his analysis here. If you are not interested in this, consider a low flow, dual flush toilet. They have different water amounts for liquids and solids, depending on the button you push.

5) Don’t waste what you get. Consider getting a rain barrel and using it to water you garden and house plants. Before you do this, check with your city or county, they may have regulations on these because they can become misquito breeding ground.

6) Take shorter showers. This should go without saying.

7) Think about your appliances. This could be an outdated dishwasher or washing machine. Due to the life span of these, you could have a unit almost 30 years old (I do) that may use 3-4 times as much water as a newer model. Depending on your water rates, the payback period on a new unit could be much shorter than you think. (Old machines are also energy hogs, which can speed up your payback as well)

8) Check for leaks – This one is fairly obvious as well.  If somethings leaking and you dont know about it, you’ve got a problem on your hands.

9) Buy Low Flow Shower Heads - These are easy to install and most are designed in a tasteful manner.

10) Don’t Water the Sidewalk - Your grass needs the water, not the sidewalk.  Pay attention to where your sprinkler is spraying when on

11) Dont water your lawn at noon – You’ll lose a lot to evaporation.

Filed Under: Environment, Finance, sustainability  / Tagged: , , ,

Green Roofs

August 20, 2009 by / 1 Comment

While at the American Planning Associations 2009 National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I was able to attend a conference session on green roofs in urban areas, and this post has been created with information from that session, as well as more sources.

Green roofs are a simple concept, and they date back to the time when humans were first learning to farm.  Green roofs are simply roofs planted with some type of vegetation, or a growing medium.  They are meant to replace the vegetation that was (or will be) displaced by the footprint of the house.  They are also called “living roofs” and I will discuss the benefits of the roofs below.

Many people see the urban rooftop as a missed opportunity to grow things, increase solar reflectivity, fight the urban “heat island” effect and absorb (or in some cases, clean) rainwater.  There are two types of green roofs, extensive and intensive.  Along with this, there are benefits beyond the strictly environmental.  Green roofs have a longer life span, and can reduce heating and cooling costs of the building.    The extensive roofs are much heavier and can support a wider variety of vegetation than the intensive counterpart.

There have been many people calling for increasing green roofs, and there are a few great examples out there.  Ford Motors has taken an interest in the green roofs, recently covering its truck assembly plant in Dearborn, MI with a green roof.  Below is a section of the plant roof, obtained from greenroofs.org

The City of Chicago, IL is also becoming a leader in green roofs in the US.  Many corporations are beginning to give green roofs a serious look due to their low maintenance costs and longer life span which is estimated to last ~ 2 times as long as a traditional roof.

Lets do a cost comparison between a green roof and a traditional (asphalt) roof for a 2,000 sq ft house.

Estimates put the cost of a green roof at $5-10 per square foot, and according to improvenet‘s calculator, a roof in the zip code 82070 will cost ~$3,000-4,000 dollars, and has a lifetime of approximate life span of 20 years.  Clearly, a green roof is more expensive, costing ~$10,000 for the same size roof.  However, we need to take in the replacement cost, as one wouldn’t replace the roof on a house they were not planning on living in for a while.  So, in 20 years when your asphalt needs to be replaced, your green roof will still be going strong.

If you are of the unfortunate case that you need to replace a roof when you buy the house and plan to stay in the house for a while, you could easily replace the asphalt roof 2 or even 3 times during your tenure in the house (although I hope you are not that unlucky).  The replacement cost of the asphalt comes close after the second, and will eclipse after the third ($12,000 v $10, 000).  Or, using the lower estimates, would put it at a measly $1,000 difference.  Factor in the heating and cooling savings you’ll get, and your payback period will get even shorter.  If you’re ambitious enough to garden up on the roof, then you can recoup faster with food savings.

After reading about green roofs, you may think “well, if the last so much longer and the cost is comparable, then why aren’t more people (like you) doing it?”

Well, that’s a question I cant answer, but maybe you can, in the comment section.

Thanks for reading!

For more information, see www.greenroofs.org

Questions? email me at info@sustainablelifeblog.com

Follow me on twitter @sustainlifeblog

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Water, Conservation Style

August 7, 2009 by / Leave a Comment

After a water post yesterday, I figured that I’d do another one, which can be related back to a more personal, conservation style level, as opposed to building advice with a dash of planning, as my previous post was.

As previously mentioned, resources in the western US are scarce, and water certainly tops the list.  Due to the fact that water is sold on the cheap and typically not charged in a ‘ladder’ or other pricing scheme, many don’t think about how much they use.

Note: A ladder or similar pricing scheme is one where users pay more per gallon of water the more water they use.  For example, you may pay 5 cents a gallon for the first 1,000 gallons, but after that, you will pay 8 cents a gallon.

Saving water is an easy way to be environmentally friendly, and typically takes only a bit of extra time (an occasionally a higher up-front cost) to do so.  Here are some tips to save water in your everyday life

On the Lawn

  • Keep the Mower blades sharp – This may sound odd, but grasses that are cut by dull blades are often torn as opposed to cut, and the frayed edges require more water to stay healthy and green.
  • Monitor the rain – If you have an automatic sprinkler system, turn it off if it has rained that day.  Sensors that do this automatically are also available for purchase.
  • Water early in the morning or at night – This may sound like common sense, but I get angry when I see people watering mid-day.  So much evaporation

Throughout the House

  • Purchase Water (and energy) saving appliances – Once again, sounds simple, but many dont do it. Typically this is due to the higher initial cost.  Next time when shopping for an appliance, do some calculations on how much money you can save per year if you save X gallons of water.
  • Turn off water when brushing teeth/washing hands - Yes, a bit cumbersome, but well worth it.  After a while, it just becomes habit.
  • Start a compost pile – kitchen garbage disposals use a great deal of water.   Ill put up a post on compost sometime soon.
  • Use a Flow Meter – you can use a flow meter to determine how much water you’re using and adjust your habits accordingly.

Enjoy the weekend,  and thanks for reading!

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The Power of Water

August 6, 2009 by / Leave a Comment

We all know that the earth is mostly covered by water, and that our bodies are made up of mostly water as well.  Water is an important part of our daily life, yet many people do not give it much passing thought.  Why should they? Water is there whenever you need it, and is cheap to use.  So, people dont think twice about the amount that they are using on a daily basis.  More importantly, many people give little thought to the power that water possess.

I’m talking about the people who have worked hard all their life, and want to build a nice home near the river.  They save for a majority of their life, and look for a place to settle down with great views and enjoy going to sleep with the sound of a babbling brook coming through the open window.  However, they may soon face a problem: They built their home in a flood plain.

This practice is not only unsustainable, but unwise as well.  Who wants to wake up in the middle of the night to a knock on the door or a phone call to someone saying “you have 5 hours to evacuate”.  I can only imagine the horror of being told something like that, then trying to rush your loved ones out the door while deciding what important family heirlooms to save (or at least attempt to save).  Flooding has been a part of nature since long before the humans were around, and will continue to be around for a while.  Floods carry necessary nutrients down the river and deposit them in the floodplains, making the ground quite fertile.

When people build in floodplains, dams, dikes and levees must be built to control flooding in the area.  This practice does not allow the floods to deposit the necessary nutrients, leaving the farmers (and others who live in the floodplain) to fertilize themselves, which causes a host of problems downstream.

People living in floodplains wait for the floods to come, and hope levee’s are not breached, lest their property be partially, or completely, ruined.  Instead, people should consider not building in a floodplain.  The benefits are endless, you wont have to worry about floods and the like, and nature can continue depositing valuable nutrients to the land.

Currently, many planners are seeking to turn floodplains into still useable land, while keeping property development out by creating greenways or bike trails in the flood plain.  This can serve multiple purposes, including the previously mentioned keeping homes out of the floodplain, as well as giving citizens a nice place to recreate.

Questions to the readers:

  1. Are people who live in the floodplains responsible for their own property damage?  Should we do away with flood insurance and call it “lack of common sense”?
  2. Is there a recreational trail system next to a river/creek in your town? Do you use/enjoy it?

Questions? email me at info@sustainablelifeblog.com

Follow me on twitter @sustainlifeblog


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