The Center for Health, Environment & Justice has just published “Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain’s Chemical Smell”, which claims more than 100 chemicals are released into the air when consumers open the packages containing the curtains.

That “new” smell sticks around too. the report found that 108 different VOCs were released into the air over a months time. AND, the level of total VOCs was over 16 times greater than the recommended guidelines for indoor air quality established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

These VOCs are linked to a variety of health problems including respiratory irritation, central nervous system problems, and liver and kidney damage.

The Center for Health, Environment & Justice, a consumer advocacy group tested curtains purchased at Wal Mart, Bed, Bath and Beyond, K-mart, Sears and Target and found unacceptable levels of toxins in a variety of brands. All five curtains tested contained phthalates DEHP and DINP, chemicals banned in children’s toys in California, Washington, and the European Union.

“The release of so many volatile organic compounds, many of which are toxic, raises serious questions about the risks PVC shower curtains pose to families, especially young children exposed to these vapors. Every effort should be made to eliminate PVC shower curtains from homes and to replace them with safer alternatives,” said CHEJ Science Director and report co-author, Stephen Lester.

So skip the cute well coordinated plastic curtain if it’s made from PVC. Most major retailers have begun to phase out these toxic contributors to indoor air pollution, so it pays to take a look at the label. Currently, both Ikea and Marks and Spenser offer only PVC- free curtains.

Related Posts:

10 Ways To Avoid Toxic Plastic – BPA, Synthetic Estrogens and Your Child

Baby Lotion Linked to Phthalates

When “Getting the Lead Out” is Not Enough

Don’t Spend Too Much Time in Your Shower—You Might Get Sick

]]> http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/06/18/yucky-toxic-shower-curtains-new-plastic-shower-curtains-could-be-hazardous-to-your-health/feed/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/29/automatically-preheat-water-to-save-energy/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/29/automatically-preheat-water-to-save-energy/#comments Thu, 29 May 2008 16:25:01 +0000 Philip Proefrock http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/29/automatically-preheat-water-to-save-energy/ Usually when we are talking about plumbing fixtures for green building we are dealing with something that conserves water. But some plumbing devices can contribute to energy savings, as well.

When you are in the shower, the hot water from the shower strikes your body and transfers some heat before it falls away. But most of the heat in that water simply goes down the drain. Reportedly, 80 to 90 percent of the energy used to heat water for the shower is lost down the drain.

A drain water heat recovery unit (DWHR) transfers heat from water running down the drain to cold water going to the water heater. This preheats the water so that the heater is starting with warmer water, and thus needs less energy. A DWHR unit can save as much as 25-30% of the energy used for water heating, and payback periods range from 3 to 7 years, depending on use patterns.

The principle is rather simple. Cold water coming in to the building goes through a coil that is wrapped around the main drain pipe. Hot water running down the drain transfers its heat to the incoming water and preheats it before it goes to the water heater. As hot water is drawn from the water heater, it draws in cold water to be heated. If that water going to the heater can be pre-heated, then less energy is needed to heat it to the required temperature.

This is true for both tank-style water heaters, as well as for tankless water heaters. But, because tankless water heaters can only raise the temperature of the water by a certain degree range, having the warmer input helps further boost the output temperature they are able to provide. Water heat recovery also makes a great deal of sense in conjunction with solar hot-water systems.

Because the DWHR unit is typically installed on the main drain stack, it is not typically something for a do-it-yourself installation. A plumber will have to cut out a portion of the drain pipe and install the DWHR unit, as well as routing the water supply to the water heater through the DWHR. This is one reason that makes this less of a retrofit option for many homes.  However, there are no moving parts, and once installed, this system will passively reclaim heat from the wastewater going down the drain any time warmer water is going down the drain.

Not every household is suited to using a The best application of a water heat recovery unit is in conjunction with a shower. Bathwater sits in the tub, so, with nothing going down the drain during the time the tub is filling, no preheating takes place. And then, when the tub is drained, there is usually no other hot-water demand, meaning that the heat is lost instead of being recaptured.

In new construction, where the water heater can be located close to the main wastewater line, a DWHR makes real sense. Also, for commercial applications in hotels, apartment buildings, and other places where large amounts of hot water are used, a DWHR can make a difference in the amount of energy needed for water heating.

Further information:

GFX Drainwater Heat Recovery

Rocky Mountain Institute Report

Image: (cc-by-sa-2.0) by Chad Miller via Wikimedia

Key Causes of Excessive Water Use

There are many sources of water waste across all sectors of the economy. But, as homeowners and consumers, which ones do we have the most control over? Low Impact Living suggests you consider the following ideas when thinking about lowering your water use.

Direct Household Water Use

The typical household with three members uses over 300 gallons of water per day, both inside and outside. If you live in a warm climate where lawn irrigation is needed, then typically this is your single biggest source of waste – most lawns are over-watered, irrigated with inefficient equipment, and planted with plants not suitable to the local climate.

Inside, toilets, clothes washers and showers are the largest water users, representing 19, 15 and 12 gallons per person per day respectively (see chart to the right). There are huge inefficiencies here as well, especially in older homes. New appliances and plumbing fixtures can often shave 50% off of your water use.

All told, an average water-conserving home could cut the 300 gallon average above to less than 150 gallons with no sacrifice in comfort or performance. Specific things you can do to achieve these savings are listed below.

Indirect Water Use

In addition to the water that you use directly, you also consume water via the products and services that you buy.

The largest single source of indirect water use is through the generation of electric power. Electric power plants employ water to generate steam and for cooling. Per capita water use due to power generation is a whopping 480 gallons per day in the US. This varies greatly by locality. In states using hydroelectric power plants or seawater-cooled plants, fresh water use can be less than one gallon of water per kilowatt-hour of power generated (Idaho, Oregon and California are among these). In other states with no hydro resources and only fresh water available, the use can be very high – Tennessee, Nebraska and Wisconsin power plants use on average over 30 gallons of water per kilowatt-hour of power generated.

Another indirect water use is the food and beverages that we consume. When you consider the entire lifecycle of a food product, from farm to dinner table, many foods require huge amounts of water to produce. Most meats (beef being worst), heavily processed foods, and some vegetables that grow in wet conditions use tremendous amounts of water. Some examples are provided below (representing global averages).

Read More about Water Use and Consumption:

• Touchless Faucets for the Home
• It’s Time to Rethink Tub Sizes
• Could Wind Help Save Water?

It’s a hard statistic to nail down, but a person uses between fifty and seventy gallons of water each time he or she takes a bath. This number includes water wasted waiting for the desired temperature as well as hot water used to return the cooling water to the desired temperature. Compare that number to a five minute shower, which uses around twenty five gallons of water, possibly half that if the shower uses a flow restrictor. Clearly, if water conservation is the main goal, a quick shower is the answer, but let’s not throw out the bathtub with the bathwater just yet.

Many people don’t limit themselves to a five minute shower, and without a flow restrictor, it won’t take long for a shower to cross the fifty gallon mark. Plus, many people really like a nice, long, relaxing bath. As green has come to incorporate the mood and feel of a house, a nice place to take a bath fits in well in a green house. There are a few things we as consumers can do to make our baths more conserving. But we’re going to also need some help from bathtub manufacturers. One idea that’s gaining traction is a whirlpool bath with an in-line heater, so water that’s being moved around gets heated in the process. I can’t speak to how much energy this uses as opposed to heating the water with a water heater, but it will lead to less water wasted in the reheat process. When filling the tub, don’t let all that cold water at the beginning be wasted - you can either close the drain and let the hot water balance it out or get a pitcher and use that water for something else, like watering that plant you’ve been neglecting. Manufacturers can start to design the tubs with conservation in mind. Clearly they can’t make a human-sized mold for a bathtub because we’re all different sizes, but I don’t need all that extra space for my rubber duckies. I can see some sit-down bathtubs gaining popularity both for their efficient use of space and their potential for water conservation.

Go ahead and do a search for luxury bathtubs and you’ll see the disturbing trend of massive tubs. There are tubs with a water capacity of 200 gallons! That number is a little misleading because 200 gallons would fill up the entire tub, which shouldn’t be possible with spillover valves. Sometimes companies use the term “operating capacity,” which means how many gallons are necessary to get just over the jets to be able to operate a whirlpool tub. For most baths, a tub filled to operating capacity wouldn’t cover half a human. So even if that 200 gallon tub is only filled half way, that’s a ridiculous amount of water to use on a bath (unless there’s several of you in there, and then all bets are off.)

Here’s my challenge: Find or design the most water efficient bathtub while maintaining the comfort and appeal of a nice, long, relaxing bath. Post your findings here and the winner will get the thanks of concerned environmentalists. And I’ll post your picture - I promise.

For more water saving ideas, click here.

Photo by Jyn Meyer

In talking about greens in the shower, we’re not talking about rinsing your lettuce in the bathtub Cramer style. We’re talking about great ways to conserve water, and we’re out to prove that environmentalists most certainly do do it in the shower.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub, No Greens In the Tub

Our friends at the EPA tell us that baths use up to twice the amount of water as showers. (How they know this might explain those men in suits outside the house timing me while I showered.)

The average bathtub holds about 190 liters (50 gallons) of warm, bubbly H2O. By contrast, the average Sally and Joe apparently use somewhere between 80 and 190 liters in the shower. Particularly water conscious people can use even less.

Some Like It Cold

In the not-too-distant past, I ran an article about the chills and thrills of cold showers. To the uninitiated, this may sound intimidating or just down right loopy. However, to my surprise, quite a few people have replied with their own excellent reasons for enjoying cold showers. Here are a few:

It’s good for the skin. There’s quite a lot of information available online about this feature. This article is one example.
It’s refreshing. You don’t know the true meaning of refreshing until you’ve come in from a workout and jumped into a cool shower. Not quite as idyllic as standing under an alpine waterfall, but as close as you’ll get from the comfort of your bathroom.
It’s a stupendous way to avoid using your air conditioning. One cold shower a day during the summer and you’ll be racking up savings on your energy bills hand over fist.
Conversely, it saves on energy for heating. Our water heaters sponge up 14-25% of our money spent on energy bills, according to the US Department of Energy. Do the math for your own home bill to get an idea of what you’d be saving.
It saves water by virtue of cold showers generally being short showers. Warm showers lull us into staying under the hot water longer. Cold showers, as you can imagine, have just the opposite effect.

Biggest Turn-Offs

If you don’t need to use it to wash with, don’t lose it down the drain. Try turning your showerhead most or all the way off while you’re soaping up, thinking deep thoughts, preparing for your day, or whatever else you do in the shower. Just use the water full power to get wet initially and then to rinse off after soaping up.

This saves an astonishing amount of water. I was once at a large camp with about 50 outdoor showers all clumped in the same area. The water from all the showers ran together and became quite a rushing little rivulet. Watching hundreds of gallons flow down the drain in this fashion, it very quickly become clear how much can be saved by simply turning the water down or off while lathering up.

Tip: if you use bar soap, leave the water on just a trickle while you’re lathering up. This way, you can keep the bar of soap wet and sudsy.

Save It For The Sink

Mind you, if you’re following the above advice on turning the water off to lather up, you’ll likely run into a problem while washing your face. It’s no fun to fumble about with closed, soapy eyes for the shower dial to turn the water back on again and rinse of your face.

So, say you leave the show running while you wash your face. But what a lot of unused water down the drain!

And then, for those inclined to live the sweet and rosy life, there is the question of face washes, exfoliants, scrubs, and lotions, which can crowd out the shampoo and conditioner on the shower shelf. Why not solve all of these problems with one solution?

Firstly, keep your face washes around the sink. Their fancy French labels will spruce up your powder room. (Guys, don’t try this unless you’re either very secure or in desperate need of a soft, smooth mug.)

Next, and most importantly, wash your face in the sink. By washing your face in the sink instead of the shower, you’ll be able to much more easily turn the water off to lather up and then turn it back on again to rinse off.

Tip: Wash your face after showering so that the tap water in the sink is already hot. You’ll avoid having to run the water while waiting for it to warm up. Guys, you can also use this trick for shaving your face with warm water.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Shower Alone

An invitation to shower together is probably not the best way to make friends or business acquaintances. Unless you’re in San Francisco, and even then there are easier ways to meet people. However, if you’re already in a happy relationship, shower together with that special someone is fun and romantic.

Taking turns to lather up and rinse off, you get all the environmental benefits of turning the shower off while lathering. Plus, you get someone who can reach that impossible-to-reach spot on your back, bringing soap and loving care to an otherwise soapless and forgotten region of your body.

No Ch-ka-ch-ka With the Water Running

Just about the only thing more wasteful than leaving the water running in the sink while brushing teeth is leaving the water running in the shower for the same purpose. Plus, leaving toothbrushes in the shower area is just one sanitary level up from eating lunch in the shower. We all know and appreciate it: brush in the sink and turn the water off except to rinse.

Shower Flower Power

A friend recently told me with great enthusiasm that she’d found a huge way to save water in the shower. She put a bucket underneath the spout to catch water that was not being used. The bucket filled especially quickly when she first turned the water on and let it run to heat up. She then used took the bucket to the garden and used the water to give the plants a drink. What an excellent way to redirect water from the drain, where it’s useless, to the garden, where it’ll help your flowers grow!

Low-Flow Showerheads

Low-flow showerheads are a very easy way to upgrade your bathroom and downgrade your water usage. Look in your local plumbing or hardware stores and compare the flow rates of each showerhead. You can also buy low-flow showerheads online at green living websites.

Photo Sources:

Showers | Flickr

The Thrills

• It’s refreshing. Think that iced lemonade is the last word in refreshment? Not even close. Cold showers arouse your senses like only a blast of icy, fresh water can.
• You’ll be saving energy. You may not know it, but your home water heater soaks up 14-25% of the money you spend on your energy bill. If you’re not ready to take the plunge into colder waters, you can still "flex your power" with gentler methods, like lowering the thermostat on your water heater to 48 C (120 F). Sip up more tips on the U.S. Dept. of Energy website.
• Chances are that if the water's cold, your showers will be shorter. This will help you save water as well as energy. It can be hard to part with the steamy suds of a hot shower. Cold water = problem solved: you’re out in a flash and on your way to face and embrace the day.
• It will cool you down on a hot day or after some exercise. A cool, quick rinse-off feels great after a workout, or on a hot September day.
• It will cool you down after a hot date. Need we say more?
• It will prepare you for travel to places where hot water is simply not an option. If you're not much of a traveler, then you can at least gain an appreciation for the daily feel of life in many places.
• It's as close as you can get to the feeling of standing under a high mountain waterfall: wild and fresh (trust me). Call me crazy, but it just feels good.

Get a shower curtain made from a natural fiber such as cotton or hemp. Hemp is more mold resistant and dries faster than other natural fabrics. Depending on the type of fabric shower curtain you get you'll probably also need a liner (nylon and polyester work well for this purpose.)

This is one of those win-win-win tips. Many people have the kind of hair that just looks and feels better when it's not washed everyday. (Win #1) By skipping a day, you are saving water, product packaging, and energy. (Win #2) And, as usual, it will also save you money. (Win #3)

A regular showerhead lets out 5 gallons of water per minute. If you still haven't converted to a low-flow showerhead, now is the time. Most use only 2 gallons of water per minute. But, you say, "The pressure, I need good water pressure!" Low-flow is really a confusing term because pressure-wise, these babies do great. Many low-flow models even have several "massage" features to choose from.