4 easy one-day bathroom upgrades

2021-03-31T17:01:00

(BPT) – Since you’ve been spending more time at home, you’ve probably noticed things that need a refresh, especially in that most-used room of the house: the bathroom. Whether you’re an experienced DIY-er or novice fixer-upper, you may be putting off renovations that seem too tough to tackle.

The good news? There are plenty of little things you can do to revamp your bathroom that aren’t time-consuming, and don’t require a contractor. Triple master plumber, TV host and licensed contractor Ed Del Grande draws from 30-plus years of experience to advise homeowners.

“I wish people knew how much they can do to make visual and functional improvements in their bathrooms,” Del Grande says. “With a little instruction, like you see on YouTube these days, you can do a lot on your own.”

Del Grande recommends easy bathroom upgrades anyone can do in a day.

1. Accents:

“To freshen up the look of any bathroom, all you need to do is change some little stuff,” advises Del Grande.

Fancy accents such as drawer pulls, cabinet knobs and switch plates can usually be replaced without having to re-drill or alter your bathroom cabinets and switches. It’s also easy to swap out towel racks, robe hooks and toilet paper holders for a new look. Just browse your favorite home improvement websites to find the style you want.

“Everyone can make these changes with little effort,” says Del Grande. “And this goes for kitchen drawer and cabinet hardware, too.”

2. Shower upgrades

Upgrade any shower stall by installing a new showerhead. There are plenty of options, from the simple to the high-tech, that improve the look — and experience — of your shower.

For the ultimate in cool new shower tech, the Moxie showerhead and wireless speaker features robust spray coverage, plus built-in Amazon Alexa and a portable Bluetooth speaker with crisp sound quality so you can hear your favorite tunes over the shower noise, with the highest quality sound experience via Harman Kardon. This portable in-shower voice assistant includes unmatched sound quality and hands-free audio control, demonstrating the benefits of connected bathroom technology and Kohler Konnect. Singing in the shower will never be the same!

3. Toilet seats

New toilet seats are simple to swap out, including specialty seats featuring slow-closing hinges (to prevent that middle-of-the-night slamming sound!), built-in air freshener systems, night lights — and even full bidet features.

For example, the Puretide manual bidet toilet seat makes it easy to add the freshness and assurance of personal cleansing to your existing toilet. With a sleek, low-profile seat design, Puretide provides the superior cleansing of a spray wand that’s fully adjustable in terms of position and water pressure. This manual bidet toilet seat requires no electricity or batteries, connecting to the toilet’s water supply line for a super easy installation.

4. High-efficiency toilets (HET):

For the serious DIY-er, you could consider replacing the entire toilet. This change not only improves the look of your bathroom, but also saves on money and water, as many existing toilets are big water wasters.

Cut water bills by swapping your standard toilet with a new high-efficiency toilet (HET). HETs use less than 1.3 gallons per flush, and are designed to flush less water with more power. HETs fit the same connections as a standard toilet for a relatively uncomplicated install.

“If you’re not confident of your ability to install a toilet,” Del Grande adds, “you could always hire a plumber for this job.”

Find more bathroom inspiration at www.kohler.com.

3 easy ways to get your home ready for Earth Day

2021-03-31T18:01:01

(BPT) – With Earth Day just around the corner, have you done a home health check to make sure you aren’t wasting water? Some easy upgrades can help you to kick water-guzzling fixtures to the curb and start saving water and money.

1) Toilets: Install a high-efficiency toilet that flushes with 1.28 gallons or less. Unfortunately, many homes still use toilets that consume 3.5 gpf. Most toilets are labeled with their water use, so check in and around the tank to make sure you have 1.28 or less.

If an average family of four swaps out a 3.5 gpf toilet for a high-efficiency 1.28 gpf toilet, they can save 16,500 gallons per year. And that adds up to a lot of money saved.

2) Showers: Replace an old showerhead with a low-flow showerhead that uses 1.75 gpm versus the standard flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute. Installing water-conserving showerheads or handshowers cuts the flow rate to 1.75 gpm — a 30% water savings. Newer showerheads offer models that boost the water droplets with air to give you a great coverage, and some even bring a next-level showering experience with integrated speakers, like the KOHLER Moxie Showerhead + wireless speaker.

3) Faucets: Change the faucet aerator — possibly the easiest and the least expensive health check! Aerators are small collar-like applications attached to a faucet, containing a fine mesh grid that allows air to be mixed with the solid stream of water. The water pressure remains the same, but the actual volume of water is reduced — the more air introduced into the water stream, the more water saved.

To change a standard faucet aerator, simply unscrew the 2.2 gpm aerators on your faucets and replace them with more efficient 1.5 gpm aerators. With this one-step installation, you can save 30% of the water used.

When shopping for fixtures that will save water, look for the WaterSense logo. The Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program helps to identify quality high-efficiency toilets and faucets that also meet strict flushing and flow-rate performance guidelines. Shop around for great deals this Earth Day, like the 25% off WaterSense products on Kohler.com. Upgrade your home’s water health and start saving money and the Earth this year.