Indoor Leaks

It’s estimated that 14% of the average American household’s water use is actually due to household leaks. Nationally this translates into more than 1 trillion gallons of water leaking from U.S. homes each year, or the equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined!

The source of these leaks? Typical culprits are running toilets, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. All are easily correctable. 

March 12-18 is national Fix a Leak Week, so let’s make every drop count! Here’s how:

• Watch our video “How to use your water meter to detect a leak”
• Use dye tabs or food coloring to check your toilet for leaks
• Make sure your showerhead, faucets, and other pipe connections are sufficiently tight (be sure not to overtighten)
• Take the WaterSense “I’m for Water” pledge

Two potentially low cost, simple repair examples:

• Leaky faucets are often caused by faulty washers that don't allow your faucet to shut off properly. Replacing faulty washers is an easy and inexpensive (less than $1) way to recoup water and money savings.

• Leaky toilets are often easy to detect and repair. Annually testing your toilets for leaks by using dye tablets or food coloring is key to quickly repairing leaky toilets. Many toilet leaks can be fixed by a do-it-yourself plumber, and are relatively inexpensive to implement ($5-20). Watch our How To videos to learn more.