Save Water - Stop Those Restroom Leaks
When you want to reduce your water bill, most people immediately begin thinking about ways of cutting back on water usage or changing their behavior by limiting washings buying expensive water conserving appliances. While these things certainly can’t hurt, many people overlook a much more basic culprit of wasting water: all their leaky bathroom faucets and toilets!
The bathroom is the most common place to find a majority of minor water leaks that are fixable. The bathroom almost always has the most water outlets and is one of the most heavily used rooms in any home. Here are some are few common leaks you may find and be able to fix in a bathroom:
Sink Faucet Drips: A sink faucet that drips can be annoying, but most people don’t think much of it until they realize how much water they’re wasting each day. Try this: place a paper cup under the leaking faucet and see how much water you collect in an hour and then multiply that amount by 24 hours. Chances are, you’ll be shocked by how much water you’re wasting. In most cases you can get to the old washers in a sink faucet by taking off the handles (a screwdriver may be required) or by twisting off the spout tip. Each bathroom faucet is a little different, so you may need to dig out the manual or take your best guess about how to replace the washers in your faucet.
Leaking Shower/Tub Combo: If you’re bathroom has a full bathtub with a shower in it, then you probably have a diverter knob you have to turn to make the water come out of the shower head or the bathtub faucet. The valve behind this can wear out over time, which means you’ll be losing water through the bathtub faucet when you take a shower. With a screwdriver and wrench you can probably take out and fix the entire shower diverter internal workings. It’s an inexpensive fix and it could save you lots of money in water bills over time.
Constantly Running Toilet: If you have a toilet that runs intermittently throughout the day then you might need to replace the toilet flapper to stop that excess water from leaking from the toilet tank into the toilet bowl. The flapper is a rubber or plastic trapdoor which lifts when you flush, and that rubber sometimes wears out and dry rots over time. It’s relatively easy to replace a toilet flapper and often doesn’t even require any special tools.
Fixing these common leaks is a great way to save water and money at the same time. The sooner you fix these leaks, the sooner you’ll reduce your water bill. Remember that leaks can actually become more damaging over time, so if you find a leak it’s always best to fix it sooner rather than later.