Ten Ways to Create an Eco-Friendly Washroom

With the rising energy and water costs, many companies are looking at ways to streamline their business and operate more efficiently and economically. A lot of companies also take great pride in their attitudes and corporate culture, which may very well play into green issues. Here we take a look at ten ways to create an eco-friendly washroom.

Waterless urinals

We each use a remarkable amount of water each day. It is currently estimated that each person uses around 150 litres per day. Naturally, in a washroom environment that sees a lot of footfall from staff or visitors, the water usage in your facilities could be staggering. However, by installing waterless urinals, which use a clever cartridge in the drain outlet of the urinal, water consumption can plummet. Each waterless urinal installed is estimated to save around £400 per year in water and sewerage charges.

PIR controlled lighting

Ever walked into a dark washroom only for the lights to magically switch on? Well, this is made possible thanks to Passive Infra-Red sensors (PIR). PIR lighting is a fantastic economical choice as lights are only on when a user is actually in the washroom. You also remove the risk of lights being left on overnight and hygiene is also significantly improved as visitors never need to actually switch on the lights – so no more dirty marks around the light switch.

LED lighting

LED light bulbs used to be terrible, however, today, they burn just as bright as traditional light bulbs and burn way less electricity. The switch to LED light bulbs is an extremely simple one and should be done ASAP. There’s literally no excuse and only saving to be had.

Low-energy hand dryers

You’ve no doubt seen the Dyson Airblade in washrooms in every environment from restaurants and shopping centres through to motorway service stations and public loos. The Airblade, V and DB model, is proven to have a lower carbon footprint than traditional hand dryers and paper hand towels. The sensor is incredibly accurate and only works when hands are directly between the two sensors. This means you only pay for the electricity to power it when it is actually being used.

Sensor taps

You’ll be doing yourself a huge favour by installing sensor taps in your washroom. These beauties massively improve the usability of your washroom and significantly improve hygiene in the workplace. The taps never need to be touched to operate and they open up a flow of water when hands are placed directly beneath them. These taps not only reduce water consumption in your facilities but also remove the risk of flooding and accidentally being left on.

Low flush volume cisterns

Back in the day, people used to put a brick in their toilet cistern to reduce the amount of water used in a single toilet flush. Older models of toilets used to use far more water than was actually necessary. However, you can now also buy toilets that benefit from a low-volume cistern, emitting just the right amount of water needed for a flush. Over the course of a year, you can save thousands of litres of water, and consequently a whole heap of money.

Shower push taps

Commercial showers used to be a notorious environment where water was either left running or overused. There are two parts to improving the economy of your showers and the first step is to use push taps like the Inta Push Button Concealed Shower Control. When a user pushes this button, water will only flow for a set period of time. However, we all remember standing in a public swimming bath, waiting for the shower water to get up to a convenient temperature, which is where the next shower addition comes in…

Thermostatic mixer valves (TMV3)

These clever valves mix the hot and cold water feeds to a pre-set temperature. This means that when water flows from the taps – be they sensor taps, push taps, or push button shower controls – the water comes through at just the right temperature. This saves on water wastage when people leave showers running until they are hot enough to use. Again, when push button shower controls AND thermostatic mixer valves are combined, you save water, time and most importantly money.

Eco cleaning products

Think about switching your cleaning products to greener alternatives. Obviously, you have a duty of care to ensure your facilities are cleaned correctly and high standards will no doubt want to be maintained, but there are many products available to deliver this without putting harmful chemicals down the drains. Most eco alternatives have reduced bleach content. If you’ve installed waterless urinals, be sure to check with the cartridge manufacturers instructions on how best to clean the urinal as in many cases bleach can actually damage them.

Water fountain

It’s amazing how much bottled water is sold in the UK, a country where pretty much all tap water is safe to drink. However, rather than having a water cooler in the office, which needs refilling regularly, why not opt for a plumbed water fountain? Many models have a water filter and cooler option integrated within them and also offer spouts suitable to fill a personal water bottle or tall glass. This saves money from paying water cooler companies and encourages staff or visitors to fill reusable water bottles rather than buying countless plastic bottles of still water from the shops. Many businesses choose to install their water fountain just outside the washrooms rather than in them.

As always, our team are at the end of the telephone for all your queries and questions and has a wealth of knowledge they’re happy to share with you. So if you need some guidance, or would like to talk over your options, you can give them a call on 01202 650900.