Save water by fixing leaky taps and toilets

Water is one of the earth’s greatest natural resources. However, as humans we sometimes take it for granted and forget that it’s a precious substance. Leaking taps and toilets might just seem a nuisance around the home. But, over time, it can lead to huge amounts of wasted water.

Not only does this wasted water have a big affect on our planet, but it also wastes money too. A tap that’s dripping away in your bathroom might not seem like much. But if you work out how much water is being thrown away down the sink, it starts to become a very worrying figure.

It doesn’t take a lot to fix a leak, you might be able to do it yourself by simply tightening a loose valve or you might need to call a plumber. Even so, the cost of a plumber fixing a leak will be nothing compared to the cost of your water bill if it’s just left dripping.

Why bother fixing the leak?

Let’s look at some of the figures to bring everything into perspective. A leaking tap can waste up to 30 gallons of water per day. Whilst this might not seem like much it’s just over 136 litres of water. When you consider that a pint is just over half a litre, then a dripping tap is filling up to 272 pints per day! Image trying to drink that!

Another area where water can be wasted is the amount of water coming out of your tap per minute or the flow of water. If your tap is flowing above 2.5 gallons per minute that it might be worth installing a low-flow faucet or aerator. This will limit the flow of water on the tap to say 1.5 gallons per minute.

How do you know if your toilet’s leaking?

It’s fairly easy to spot a leaking toilet. There are two methods you can use; either add leak detector tablets or alternatively a few drops of food colouring. If the tank of the toilet is leaking then the colour will appear in the bowl within 10 to 15 minutes. Always make sure you flush the toilet straight away after the test.

If your toilet is leaking then get is fixed as soon as you can. You could be wasting as much as 100 gallon of water per day, that’s 908 pints of water! A really simple way of saving the amount of water your toilet uses is to use a toilet tank dam or displacement bag. Modern toilets also have two flushers; one for a short flush with less water, and one for a full flush with more water.

Since the mid 1990s all modern toilets have been redesigned to use just 1.6 gallon of water per flush. Existing toilets were using 3 or more gallon of water per flush. Another good area to check is the toilet tank. Again, repeat the toilet leak test with tablets or food dye, but carry out the experiment in the tank to see if colour leaks into the bowl.

Need some help to fix it? Give us a call on 0800 731 9121

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