Momentum behind the sustainable building movement continues to grow and evolve. As it does, so too do building codes. The federal government does its part by continually increasing regulations around energy-efficiency and water use. An example of this is the WaterSense program, a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various other entities - including builders and property owners like you!

Install WaterSense Fixtures in Your Chicago Bathroom Remodeling Project

The WaterSense program is to plumbing fixtures what the EnergyStar program is to appliances, lighting and electrical fixtures. It goes beyond traditional water saving practices, like turning off the water while you brush your teeth, promoting the design and manufacturing of plumbing fixtures that go beyond basic resource-efficient building codes.

The WaterSense program has a four-part mission, which is to:

• Promote the value of water efficiency.
• Provide consumers with easy ways to save water, as both a label for products and an information resource to help people use water more efficiently.
• Encourage innovation in manufacturing.
• Decrease water use and reduce strain on water resources and infrastructure.

By purchasing faucets, toilets, shower heads and other plumbing fixtures with the WaterSense label you can join the larger "partnership" and do your part to help save billions of gallons of the earth's most precious resource: water.

WaterSense Fixtures Don't Sacrifice Style or Performance

Of course, consumers often assume water-efficient faucets and toilets will not be as stylish or will not perform as well as their counterparts. The good news is that this simply isn't true. The world's leading manufacturer's of high-end plumbing fixtures design fixtures that qualify or include optional aerators/adaptors that provide the same stringent water-saving output as a WaterSense fixture. Consumers benefit from both style and efficiency.

For example, an older bathroom faucet uses about 2.2 gallons of water per minute. You can replace that faucet with a high-end, stylish WaterSense faucet, which uses a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute, and your new faucet's performance remains the same.

Here are additional inspiring facts about WaterSense fixtures:

• Save hundreds of gallons of water.Replacing your older and outdated faucets with WaterSense fixtures, will save your household as much as 700 gallons per year. If you prioritize WaterSense fixtures in your upcoming Chicago bathroom remodeling project, you'll start out with serious water savings right from the get-go.
  
  
• Save energy. What does water consumption and energy demand have in common? Your water heater. The less hot water you're running through your faucets, the less demand is placed on your home's water. So those reduced-flow taps and shower heads mean more money in your pocket in terms of energy savings too.
  
  
• They're a part of the solution. According to the WaterSense website, if every home in the United States used plumbing fixtures with the WaterSense label, the nation would collectively save approximately 64 billion gallons of water and as much as $1.2 billion dollars in both water and energy savings.

Visit Kitchens & Baths Unlimited for a Chicago bathroom remodeling project that makes WaterSense.