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Environmentally Friendly Plumbing Systems Can Save You Money |
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by Brian LeMaire
Homes in the U.S. typically use about 100 gallons of water per day, which is nearly half of the water supplied by water utilities. That's a lot of water, so making even some of the smallest modifications to your plumbing system can save you some money, and over time you can save significant money. Now, add up the amount of water usage by all the households in the U.S. (which according to the 2007 census is 111,162,259), it's easy to see how even the smallest change to everyone's plumbing systems can make a significant impact on the environment.
A leaking faucet isn't just annoying, it also costs you money. Fixing it keeps your money from going down the drain. Roughly twelve and a half gallons of a household's water use is attributed to faucet, toilet, and pipe leaks. A dripping faucet can waste up to seventy-four gallons a day, a leaking toilet up to two-hundred gallons a day. A quick repair by you or your plumber now, will save you money in the long run.
Greywater or graywater systems collect and filter the water used by faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines. But instead of that water going down the drain, it's reused for non-drinking water purposes like watering your plants. This kind of recycling also keeps your soil well irrigated by diverting water into it instead of into your local sewage system.
Leaking faucets aren't just annoying, they also cost you money. Fixing them keeps your money from going down the drain. On average, between twelve and thirteen gallons of households' water use is water wasted by faucet, toilet, and pipe leaks. One leaking faucet can waste over seventy gallons a day and a leaking toilet can waster more than one-hundred and ninety gallons each day. It's worth it to fix leaks yourself or calling a plumber to do it for you, you will save money in the long run.
When leaky pipes can't be repaired because of too many pinhole leaks or another systemic problem, what can you do? Traditionally the solution has been to replace your plumbing system -to repipe, but that means cutting walls open and tearing out pipes. So not only are you throwing away the old pipes and the drywall that had to be removed to get at them, but then you need to replace them with new pipes and drywall. Manufacturing these new materials has an environmental impact.
Leaky pipes: What happens when your leaky pipes are so full of pinhole leaks or can't be repaired and need to be replaced? A repipe, or pipe replacement, involves cutting open walls and removal of the affected pipes. Not only does this mean you're throwing away drywall and old pipes, but you're using new drywall and pipes, each with its own manufacturing toll on the environment.
CuraFlo's epoxy pipe lining is a "green", or environmentally friendly alternative to repipe. It involves less mess and takes less time than pipe replacement. More often than not epoxy lining is more cost-effective too. Your pipes are epoxy lined through connections to your existing plumbing fixtures and valves, nearly or completely eliminating the need to cut open walls. Your pipes are cleaned out and epoxy is blown through. Your existing pipes are restored to good as new condition with at least another 50 years of service life. - 109
About the Author:
Brian LeMaire is President of CuraFlo and has been in the plumbing maintenance industry since 1981. He is a State registered plumbing contractor in Ohio. Find out more about pipe leaks and discover what to do about Manhole lining |
