California getting snotty about their potties

Did you know California has put a new law in place that went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year? It’s causing quite a commode-tion.

It basically says that any home built after 1994 must flush away some money meeting the requirement of having water-conserving plumbing (WCP) fixtures in their bathrooms, whether it’s going on the market or not. What a stinker!

Additionally, the law calls for installation of WCP fixtures – and wiping away the old one – when the existing plumbing fixtures use more than the following:

Any toilet manufactured to use more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush.
Any urinal manufactured to use more than one gallon of water per flush.
Any shower head manufactured to have a flow capacity of more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute.
Any interior faucet that emits more than 2.2 gallons of water per minute.

Now that the drought is over, I wonder if the regulations might go down the drain and on the sale side nobody is enforcing it. But either way, a very important question remains: who the heck has a urinal in their house?

Latest Bathroom Trends

According to a recent Houzz & Home survey, homeowners are investing more on bathroom renovations than in previous years, largely due to outdated designs and finishes. What types of upgrades are they spending money on? Here are some of the latest trends and tech updates being used in bathroom design:

Aesthetic Additions – Small changes can bring big rewards, both in resale and in your daily experience. Some of the newest trends include polished chrome finishes and neutral colors like white and gray. Floating vanities, open shelving and undermount sinks are making bathrooms more streamlined. For a larger change, try no-threshold showers or higher vanity heights.

Tech Touches – Updating your home appliances isn’t just for the kitchen. Smart bathrooms are also making a splash, including high-tech toilets that boast seat warmers, LED lights, motion sensors and automatic dryers. Accessorized soaking tubs allow for bathing in chromotherapy and mood-enhanced lighting. Digital faucets and showers conserve water and money and incorporate touchless technology and programmable, timed options.

When done correctly, these bathroom upgrades will make a massive difference in your home. There’s nothing like a comfortable bathroom to guarantee a more peaceful experience. Keep an eye out – you’ll probably start seeing these trends taking place in new homes everywhere soon!

Hack Your Life: Dryer Sheets

Everybody needs to learn a life hack once in a while. Recently, we came across an awesome list of creative uses for dryer sheets. Check these out – can you think of any other good uses?

Pick up stray hair: Apparently, running a dryer sheet over your floor will pick up all the hair nicely and easily. Who knew?

Clean the toilet ring: Nobody likes seeing that nasty buildup in the toilet bowl – one swipe of a dryer sheet should do the trick.

De-grease the kitchen: Tired of ruining your hand sponges scrubbing grease off the stove? Just use a dryer sheet and toss it!

Replacement Swiffer pad: Believe it or not, a dryer sheet can be attached to a Swiffer if you run out of pads, and we’ll serve essentially the same function!

Freshen up the garbage: This one could really come in handy – stinky garbage? Stuff a dryer sheet or two in there to improve the scent.

Scare away mosquitoes: Don’t spend big bucks on bug spray, especially when you can keep a dryer sheet in your coat pocket to ward off the little blood-suckers.

Clean your iron: Be careful with this one – make sure it’s on a very low setting. Then, swipe a dryer sheet over the warm surface to pick up any gunk that might be left from previous uses!

Clean your scissors: Again, be careful. But wiping down your scissor blades with the rough dryer sheets may just make them good as new!

Silence your shoes: If your new shoes still squeak, rub down the soles with a dryer sheet to eliminate the sounds. Also, you can keep a dryer sheet in each stinky shoe to improve the smell!