How to select eco-friendly taps for a modern home
While trends in home design and aesthetics come and go, there’s one relatively recent revolution that’s here to stay – sustainability.
Quite rightly, an increased awareness and understanding of the impacts humans are having on the planet and its resources has come to the fore in all aspects of our lives. And, as socially responsible businesses, Abey Australia and its partners are right behind this.
Choosing appliances for your home is no exception in this swing towards sustainability, and that goes for everything from large whiteware items down to smaller appointments like your taps. So, we’ve put together this short guide to help you choose eco-friendly taps for your modern Australian home.
1. Think about materials
One of the best ways to make your taps more eco-friendly is by selecting durable and reusable materials. The throw-away consumer culture that has dominated countries like Australia until recently takes a big toll on the environment, and, thankfully, there’s been a move away from cheap products with short lifespans.
When it comes to modern household taps, stainless steel is a great option when it comes to both longevity and recyclability. Stainless steel is highly resistant to corrosion from liquids, food products and chemicals, making it a great option for kitchen as well as bathroom taps, as these appointments will come into contact with everything from cleaning agents to body washes to food. What’s more, when stainless steel taps eventually reach the end of their working life, this metal is very easy to recycle, meaning they won’t simply be dumped into landfill.
With this in mind, in your kitchen you might want to consider something like an elegant Alfresco Conos Pro Stainless Steel Mixer, while, in your bathroom this simple yet sophisticated GESSI Cesello 316 Wall Mixer ticks the sustainability boxes very nicely.
2. WELS ratings
A product’s Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS) rating aims to provide information to consumers buying products that use water. This includes everything from taps to toilets to showers and beyond.
WELS ratings are shown through stars which indicate the water efficiency of the appliance in question. Six stars is the highest possible, but anything with a four star or higher rating is considered to be best practice from an industry standpoint. Not only will the greater water efficiency that comes with such taps be kinder to the environment, it will also save you substantially on your regular water bills.
This Poco Basin Mixer is a great example of a stylish yet sustainable bathroom tap option, with a WELS rating of 4 stars, and a flow rate of 6..5 L/minute.
3. Additional bells and whistles
Thanks to the increasing global drive towards sustainability, many of our manufacturing partners are now going above and beyond to develop tech-driven solutions to make their products even more eco-friendly.
A great example of this is Gareth Ashton’s SENSOR kitchen tap. This unit will only produce water when the sensor detects the presence of hands in front of it, meaning there’s no risk of inadvertently leaving the tap running. This can be particularly useful if you have younger kids in your life who might race in from one activity, wash their hands, and be immediately onto the next thing without thinking to turn the tap off. Again, in these instances, you’ll not only be doing the planet a favour, but also be saving yourself a substantial amount of money in the process.
With the trend towards sustainable living showing no signs of slowing down, this is a great time to think about how you can make your home more eco-friendly. For more advice and tips on how to achieve this throughout bathroom, kitchen and laundry rooms, get in touch with the expert team at Abey Australia today.
