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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Are Faucet & Toilet Leaks Costing You Big?

You probably don't think about it much, but that dripping faucet or that running toilet could be costing you BIG in the long run. I figured I would do a quick blog on this very underrated subject to help raise awareness to all you homeowners out there, below is a table given by the American Water Works Association on estimated water loss and how much it might cost you.
 
Faucets
Most leaks result from worn washers in household faucets and shower heads. These faucets, as well as seldom-used taps in the basement or storage rooms, should be checked periodically. Faucet leaks are usually caused by worn washers or "O" rings (for washerless faucets).

Toilets
The toilet is one of the most common water wasters but its leaks tend to be less noticeable than faucet leaks. To determine if your toilet is leaking, look at the toilet bowl after the tank has stopped filling. If water is still running into the bowl, or if water can be heard running, your toilet is leaking. Most toilet leaks occur at the overflow pipe or at the plunger ball inside the tank. Although water may not be seen or heard running, your toilet may have a silent leak. To test for a silent leak, drop a little food coloring into the tank. DO NOT FLUSH. Wait for about 10 minutes. If the food coloring appears in the toilet bowl, your toilet has a silent leak. It is probably located in or around the plunger ball or flapper valve at the bottom of the tank.

Unseen or unfixed leaks can drip hundreds, even thousands of gallons wastefully down the drain. A little detective work several times a year can catch these water thieves in the act and put them out of circulation. If you think something isn't right with your plumbing and you'd like to have a professional inspect your plumbing and suggest ways to improve water conservation and savings, give Environmental a call and we'd be glad to help you out!

-Nickadeemus
919-535-8422
www.enviro-nc.com 
 

3 comments:

  1. I have had so many clients whose leaky toilet has caused them months of super high water bills. This is a great post, and really helps homeowners determine if they have any leaks.

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  2. I agree.. We would probably be surprised to find out how much water that innocent drip in the bathroom faucet is wasting. A pinhole leak can waste as much as 70 gallons of water in one day - 20% of a typical home's daily water use.

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  3. This is almost the same question with moms out there. Fixing toilet leaks is not included in their budget's priority, so sometimes they just ignored it without knowing that it so expensive wasting a water from time to time because of the leaks. This article of yours really helps as you have listed the price that can be brought by a leak. Therefore it is better to fix it early rather than waste more water and even money.

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