Make WaterSense^® With an Efficient Bathroom Remodel

Looking to promote a remodeling job that has the most bang for the buck? Homeowners know that remodeling a lackluster bathroom is a surefire way to increase a home’s value. According to the 2007 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, the average nationwide return on investment for a bathroom remodel is 78%, one of the highest in the home.

Selling your clients on the benefits of remodeling a bathroom is easy. The next step is selling them on the value of a water-efficient remodel. Let WaterSense, EPA’s voluntary water efficiency labeling program, help you close the deal.

There’s a reason the British refer to bathrooms as “water closets.” In the average home, toilets account for 27% of the water used indoors, and showers and faucets together account for another 33% — that’s nearly two-thirds of the water used in an entire house! Replacing outdated, water-guzzling plumbing fixtures with efficient models is a simple way you can help home owners save a precious resource and their pocketbooks. In fact, by offering a high-efficiency bathroom remodel with WaterSense labeled fixtures, you can help a client save more than 11,000 gallons and about $70 in water bills annually.

Saving water means saving energy too. With the rising costs of natural gas and electricity, home owners will be happy to hear that retrofitting with WaterSense labeled bathroom sink faucets could shave 70 kilowatt-hours off their annual electricity use. That’s enough to power a hair dryer for 8 minutes a day for a whole year.

The WaterSense label identifies products that not only save water (and energy used to heat that water), but that offer superior performance as well. To earn the label, products must undergo independent, third-party testing to ensure they meet EPA’s rigorous criteria for efficiency and performance. More than 145 toilets and 50 bathroom sink faucets and accessories have earned the label to date.

Skeptics who installed some of the ill-performing low-flow toilets of the early 1990s should know that WaterSense labeled toilets are an entirely different breed. New technology and design advancements, such as pressure-assisted flushers and modifications to bowl contours, mean that double-flushing and clogging will not be an issue. The WaterSense specification for high-efficiency toilets requires that labeled models to meet stringent flushing standards and thoroughly satisfy drain line requirements.

To find WaterSense labeled plumbing fixtures for your next remodel job, visit the WaterSense Web site. You can search for WaterSense retailer or distributor partners on the Meet Our Partners page; in addition, many manufacturers also sell their WaterSense labeled products online.

WaterSense Labeled Products by the Numbers

• 1.5: Maximum flow rate of WaterSense labeled faucets and accessories in gallons per minute.
• 32: Percent decrease in flow rate from standard bathroom sink faucets.
• 1.28: Gallons per flush used by a WaterSense labeled toilet.
• 20: Percent decrease in gallons per flush from standard toilets.
• 120,000,000,000: Gallons of water per year that could be saved if just one in every 10 American households installed WaterSense labeled toilets and faucets in their bathrooms.

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