Bathroom an ideal spot for a personal ‘green’ room

The bathroom is a great place to go green. Here are some ideas:

n Think organic cotton. Bath linens made from organic cotton are not only comfy and soft, but they require less pesticide to produce than regular cotton towels. Manufacturers that use the slightly more expensive organic cotton also tend to use natural dyes and softeners that are less toxic to the environment.

Consider replacing your vinyl shower curtain with a heavy cotton duck curtain, says Annie B. Bond, author of “Home Enlightenment” and executive producer of green living content at Care2.com, a site devoted to natural health. “The plastic in a shower curtain is PVC, and the plasticizers in PVC are hormone disrupters.”

n Try an all-natural approach. Natural bath products are friendlier to your skin than chemical-laden offerings from major cosmetics companies and they won’t create toxic air pollution. Visit the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Web site, http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php, to research products you currently use and discover healthy alternatives.

n Be water wise. A low-flow showerhead can reduce water consumption by 30 percent . Another nifty gadget, a gray-water diverter, sends used water from the shower or bath to a collection container for distribution to your garden.

Insulating your water heater and lowering its thermostat to 120 degrees makes a real difference in the amount of energy used to heat your morning shower. And consider replacing your old toilet with a low-flow model .

n Use recycled building products. Remodeling your bathroom? Seek out tile made from recycled materials for floors, baths, showers and countertops. Thanks to the popularity of recycling, colors and finishes are plentiful. Recycled glass tile is a particularly good choice .

n Clean green. Get rid of the harsh chemicals you use to clean tubs and toilets. Pay attention to the government-mandated warning labels on cleaning products; the terms used, from least to most toxic, are “caution,” “warning” and “poison/danger.” Aim for products that say “caution” only or seek out environment-conscious brands like Seventh Generation and Ecover.

Courtesy Karin Beuerlein on hgtv.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.