Eco friendly bathroom tips

IF you've been meaning to do your bit for the environment but aren’t sure how you can make a difference, why not start one room at a time? Here, we’ve put together some tips on how to make your bathroom a greener place in just a few simple steps.

1. Ditch the chemical cleaners. If you keep on top of your chores, there’s no need to use harsh cleaners to clean your bathroom. Our top quality shower doors have our Clearshield protective coating on the glass. This makes cleaning even easier. All you need is a soft cloth with hot soapy water and your showers will be sparkling clean.
2. If you've left the cleaning a bit too long, you could make your own cleaning products using baking soda and white vinegar. Use to clean your tiles, your loo or to remove soap scum from your taps. This concoction is cheaper, cleaner and kinder to the environment and you. Cleaning products you you buy in shops have harsh chemicals. Recycle newspaper by using it to buff and shine your mirrors.
3. Water charges may have been scrapped but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be conscious of your water consumption. Buy a toilet with an eco flush. Make sure there are no leaks in your taps or shower. Some people don’t flush the toilet at night - but that’s a personal choice you may not be willing to make! One way you can also save water is to not let the water run when you’re brushing your teeth. When you’re shaving, fill the basin with water instead of letting the tap run.
4. Don’t wash your towels after every use. Hotel rooms always have signs encouraging guests to hang up their towels. You should use your towels more than once at home too. It’ll help the environment in a few different ways: it saves water, it reduces the amount of laundry detergent being used and it also saves on the electricity  used for washing and drying. If you install one of our heated towel rails, reusing towels will become a lot easier.
5. Recycle your bathroom waste. People aren’t always in the habit of separating bathroom waste. Keep a small bin for separating cardboard toilet roll inserts from things like wipes, cotton pads or sanitary waste which can’t be recycled is a good idea. You’re more likely to recycle items if they’re already conveniently separated so check out the availability. We love this one from Joseph Joseph, for example.
6. Become more eco friendly by using bars of soap instead of shower gel. Plastic bottles will end up being dumped. Vegan soaps are becoming increasingly popular for this very reason. Or if you do prefer shower gel, consider buying in bulk and decanting into our dispensers to reduce the waste. If you do decide to use shower gel, make sure it doesn’t have plastic micro-beads which end up going down the drain and into the eco-system, impacting on marine life.
7. Use toilet paper from recycled sources and if you really want to up your game, install a bidet to stop using toilet paper completely. Bidets are more eco friendly as they reduce paper waste. Some Asian and European countries only use bidets and as a result their plumbing systems can't handle flushed toilet paper. 

We have a wide range of eco-friendly products here at SONAS Bathrooms - ask our expert sales team for advice if you want to create an environmentally conscious bathroom. Visit our showroom in Dublin 15 for ideas and inspiration.