Official Fix A Leak Week!
This week commemorates the official fix a leak week March 15-21st! Did you know that 10% of homes have leaks creating 90 gallons a day of waster per home? When we normally think of leaks we thing of a puddle on the ground or a pipe on the side of our house spraying all over. Many leaks however, are found in your normal fixtures that you would never think about. How about your dripping tub faucet that you may hear every once in a while? Or how your toilet, if not sealed correctly, can actually continue to run without you knowing it. Of course we know about the amount of water this wastes but we also don’t think about the money going to waste as well! Did you know not only are you charged for water coming into your home but you are also charged on waste leaving your home as well? Generally the way waste is calculated is by water consumption in the house, which means if you are wasting 90 gallons or more a day not only are you being charged for your water but for waste that you don’t even use!
Here are some staggering statistics provided by WaterSense:
The Facts on Leaks:
• Leaks can account for, on average, 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, which is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.
• The amount of water leaked from U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons per year. That’s equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined.
• Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.
• Common types of leaks found in the home include leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. All are easily correctable.
• Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills.
• Keep your home leak-free by repairing dripping faucets, toilet valves, and showerheads.
• The vast majority of leaks can be eliminated after retrofitting a household with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances.
Leak Detection:
• A good method to check for leaks is to examine your winter water usage. It’s likely that a family of four has a serious leak problem if its winter water use exceeds 12,000 gallons per month.
• Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used.
Faucets and Showerheads:
• A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year. A home with WaterSense labeled toilets could use that water to flush for six months!
• Leaky faucets can be reduced by checking faucet washers and gaskets for wear and replacing them if necessary. If you are replacing a faucet, look for the WaterSense label.
• A showerhead leaking at 10 drips per minute wastes more than 500 gallons per year. That’s enough water to wash 60 loads of dishes in your dishwasher.
• Most leaky showerheads can be fixed by ensuring a tight connection using pipe tape and a wrench.
Toilets:
• If your toilet is running constantly, you could be wasting 200 gallons of water or more every day.
• If your toilet is leaking, the cause is most often an old, faulty toilet flapper. Over time, this inexpensive rubber part decays, or minerals build up on it. It’s usually best to replace the whole rubber flapper.
• If you do need to replace the entire toilet, look for a WaterSense labeled model. If a family of four replaces its older, inefficient toilets with new WaterSense labeled ones, it could save more than 16,000 gallons per year. Retrofitting the house could save the family approximately $2,000 in water and wastewater bills over the lifetime of the toilets.
Outdoors:
• An irrigation system should be checked each spring before use to make sure it was not damaged by frost or freezing.
• An irrigation system with pressure set at 60 pounds per square inch that has a leak 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (about the thickness of a dime) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.
It has been an effort of Cal Coast Plumbing Company to service its Dublin Pleasanton Livermore and whole Tri-Valley clients in both being responsible with resources AND getting a return on your investment with water saving technology.
What we provide to help our homeowners protect themselves against unknown leaks is provide an available $68 “Health and Home Check” where we inspect your entire plumbing system from where the water comes into your home, to where it exits your home. Pleas call to schedule your whole house “Home and Health Check” and we will have our technician assure you are not wasting your money and water!
PS. Also, if any repairs ARE necessary discounts Apply!
* If you are a Diamond Club Member you get this free every year!*
Call to schedule yours today
925-462-1090
-Aaron
