Earth Day is coming up!  A time to focus on sustainability and living green.  And I am quite flattered that American Standard’s Responsible Living Blog has asked for what they call my “expert advice” as Earth Day approaches.  Now, since American Standard makes toilets and bathroom fixtures and is home of the famous “Professor Toilet” so I offer the bathroom (and specifically the toilet) as my “theme” for this blog post.  Love ya, Professor Toilet!

• Years ago, when I worked in news for a radio station in Birmingham, our Earth Day tagline was “Listen to I-95; We have a Brick  in Our Toilet” which I always thought was hilarious. But also good advice – the idea is that by displacing water in your toilet tank you use less water with every flush. But the newer, better device for this is a closed water bottle instead (include a few stones to hold it down in the toilet). Bricks can disintegrate with use, so the bottle is a better idea.
• And while we’re on the subject of toilets (I’m angling for an autographed photo of the Prof. here, obviously) your toilet may leak – and you may not even know it. Here’s how you test: use a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. If you see the color in the toilet bowl within 15 minutes or so, it means you have a leak, usually caused by a faulty flapper valve which is easily replaced.
• This is one of my favorites because I LOVE this trend – when you buy a new home and renovate it, SAVE WHAT YOU CAN from the old residence! Go ahead and replace those drafty windows and reinsulate the attic, but consider whether or not that kelly green or Pepto-Bismol pink bathroom *might* be very retro cool if adorned with the right accessorizing towels and shower curtains. In our ‘70s home we made into a “warm midcentury modern” we kept the cool original yellow bathroom tile in the rec room bathroom and updated simply by replacing the leaky green toilet with an energy efficient American Standard version and posting some cool retro movie posters from the period. Seriously, looks great!

Happy Earth Day to you all!  Go put a brick in your new non-leaking toilet!

Mary Anne Walser
Keller Williams Realty of Buckhead
#1 Individual Agent in 2012!
www.maryannewalser.com
maryannesellshomes@gmail.com
404-277-2537