As the years go by, you would be surprised just how many cool plumbing improvements hit the market. From technological advancements that connect our plumbing systems with our phones to greater efficiency amongst installation techniques, it really has been neat to see the industry evolve. Being a residential and commercial plumbing company, our team at Stine-Nichols always has our eyes open for new innovations in an effort to see how we can provide top-notch plumbing services to our customers.
In this week’s blog post, we’re going to take a look at a few household plumbing improvements that anyone could look into implementing. While not all of these are absolutely necessary and some are bigger than others, it should serve as a nice overview of the various possibilities available to homeowners. For those new to our blog, we welcome you to Stine-Nichols Plumbing. We are a full-service plumbing company based out of North Kansas City, MO. As evidenced by the topic of this week’s blog, we like to utilize our website blog as an avenue for educating homeowners on how to best manage their plumbing system. That could mean providing tips for vetting local plumbing companies before hiring them, how to best approach routine plumbing maintenance or even a few DIY tricks to save you a few bucks!
With all of that being said, let’s take a look through a few plumbing improvements that you may look into incorporating at your own home.
Upgrade Your Faucets
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to make a noticeable difference in either your kitchen or bathroom is by updating your faucets. As you could likely guess, modern faucets add a lot more life to the room in comparison to outdated options. Plus, if you browse through the websites of the major faucet manufacturers, you’ll notice there’s no shortage of options either. That could mean investing in touchless faucets (which are particularly becoming popular for commercial facilities). It could mean looking into voice-activated faucets, like Moen’s Smart Faucet. To add one more option to it, you could even look into just going with a classic trendy option that improves the overall aesthetic of the room, such as this two-handle bathroom faucet from Delta.
In the end, upgrading your faucets is the perfect way to modernize your bathroom without turning the project into a complete remodel! Are you interested in having some new faucets installed in your bathroom or kitchen? If you need help with brand recommendations or the actual installation, we would be happy to help! Fill out the form linked HERE for a free quote.
Have You Heard of Tankless Water Heaters?
While traditional tank-style water heaters are still the more popular option, there’s no denying that tankless water heaters are gradually becoming quite common and for good reason. Tankless water heaters occupy much less space, tend to be more energy-efficient and almost always last longer than their tank-style counterparts. Keep in mind though that they do come at a higher price tag as well. Long story short, if your current water heater has been installed for over 10 years and is starting to show some signs of deterioration, it might not be a bad idea to consider a tankless water heater. Personally speaking, our team at Stine-Nichols has had the opportunity to install plenty of them over the years and can report that the homeowners absolutely love them!
New Showerheads
A new showerhead can make a huge difference when it comes to the routine of getting ready in the morning. And just like I mentioned above with the faucets, there’s also no shortage of options and the installation process is generally fairly straightforward. You might consider going with one that offers a variety of spray options or even one that’s more eco-friendly. Better yet, if you’re looking to truly turn this into a luxurious experience, consider going with a smart showerhead, like this one from Kohler. Their Moxie Showerhead allows for voice-activated commands, as well as a speaker, so you can connect your phone via bluetooth and play some music while you’re in the shower. Does it get any better than that?
Complete Remodel
Are you looking to increase the overall value of your home and also have a little bit of a budget for the project? Rather than making small upgrades here and there, you may consider fully remodeling your master bathroom or one of the other bathrooms in the home. When done right, you can easily get a solid return on your investment with a bathroom remodel. And if you’re doing this to the master bathroom, you’ll be modernizing one of the spaces that is immediately looked at by prospective homebuyers.
Environmentally-Friendly Throughout
In some of the sections above, we briefly touched on the concept of eco-friendly fixtures. Whether that be the faucets, showerheads or anywhere else in the plumbing system, there really is value in creating a more efficient and sustainable home. For one, you’ll find yourself saving money on monthly utility bills, but you’ll also be creating a space that’s more appealing to house hunters.
Water Softener or Water Filtration System
The final items I’ll touch on today are water softeners or water filtration systems. We actually covered the difference between the two in-detail on a recent blog. If you would like to give it a read, feel free to click HERE to check it out. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a household plumbing improvement, it’s tough to argue against installing either of these two products. For the purpose of this blog though, I will provide a quick overview of the two.
Water softeners are designed to “soften” hard water. For those living in the Kansas City area, we do find ourselves having above-average levels of hard water. Hard water has higher mineral counts (primarily calcium and magnesium) and can be frustrating to live with. While it’s safe to drink and wash with, some of its side effects include soap scum, dry skin/hair and so on.
On the flip side, you also can have a water filtration system. With this, you can have a water filter on a specific faucet, on your refrigerator or even have a whole-house filtration system. In any case, a water filtration system is tasked with removing small particles, chemicals or other contaminants that may be found in your drinking water.
In the end, homeowners can opt to have one of the two installed or even have both. Here at Stine-Nichols Plumbing, we have a few different brands that we recommend to ensure our clients have options to meet their needs and budget.
Call Your Local Plumbers in Kansas City!
No matter what the plumbing project may entail, our team at Stine-Nichols Plumbing is committed to being a one-stop shop for all things plumbing. Water heaters, sewer lines, faucets, gas lines, bathroom remodeling, you name it and we’ve got a plumber for you! We hope you enjoyed this week’s blog that covered just a few of the many upgrades homeowners can make to their home’s plumbing system. If you’re interested in getting a free quote for an upcoming project or simply would like to ask our team a question, feel free to either fill out the form HERE or give us a call at (816) 348-3481. We look forward to hearing from you.