Information courtesy of EPA WaterSense
The Environmental Protection Agency celebrates Fix a Leak Week each March to remind you to check household fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks. Household leaks can waste more than one trillion gallons of water annually nationwide. That’s equal to the annual household water use of more than 11 million homes. A one gallon per minute leak can add more than half a million gallons per year. Common types of leaks found in the home include worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks are often easily fixed, requiring only a few tools and hardware.
The Regional Water Providers Consortium has a
video on detecting household leaks that you may find helpful. Additional information about fixing household leaks, both indoors and outdoors, is available
here.
Tips for Identifying Leaks
Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you may have a leak.
Identify toilet leaks by placing a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If any color shows up in the bowl after 10 minutes, you have a leak. (Be sure to flush immediately after the experiment to avoid staining the tank.)
Examine faucet gaskets and pipe fittings for any water on the outside of the pipe to check for surface leaks.
Examine water usage during a colder month, such as January or February. If a family of four exceeds 12,000 gallons per month, there may be serious leaks inside your home from a fixture such as a toilet.