While we’ve all heard that leaky toilets costs can add up, even functioning toilets have historically been big water users. Nearly 27 percent of water used inside homes goes through toilets, much more than in showers, washing machines or faucets. A leaky toilet cost one New York City resident $26 a day.
Here at Benicia Plumbing in northern California, we've received a fair amount of rain recently, but we always need to be concerned about conserving water in the Golden State. So, here is some helpful advice about your toilet and how to avoid wasting water and costing you big bucks, brought to you by all of us at Benicia Plumbing.
How Toilets Work
What we don’t always hear about is that flush toilets are precisely engineered devices built for one purpose, and, if not maintained properly, will waste water even if everything is working fine. Toilets function on the siphon theory, a method in which water and waste from the bowl is pulled into the sewer system. When the handle is used, water empties into the bowl and is replaced when the fill valve opens because of the decreased water level in the tank. As this water level drops, it rises in the bowl and goes down the drain.
A Leaky Toilet Can Waste 20,000 Gallons of Water!
This is an actual story from a woman living in the Bay Area:
"If the average single-family home in my area uses about 8 units per month, how could I have used 26 units which is equivalent to almost 20,000 gallons in one month? I could not have used that much of water even if I showered all day while filling my neighbor’s swimming pool. Not only did I feel bad about the amount of money I owed, I was sickened by how much water I somehow had wasted. After numerous phone calls to my utility company and a number of hours of web searching, I figured out how to find the problem."
"It actually was quite simple. All I had to do was turn the water off to each toilet in the house and make sure all appliances that consume water were off. Once I was certain nothing in the house should be using water, I went outside to check the water meter to see if it detected any leaks. The good news was that it was not showing any leaks, meaning the pipes were intact. The two leaky toilets were the culprit, a hard pill to swallow but it was true."
"Now you may be wondering how much a leaky toilet can cost you. According to the statistics from my local water company, a small leak the size of the head of a pin, dripping at one drop per second can cost you 7 gallons per day. A large leak that is commonly found in toilets can cost you 200 gallons or more per day. This means that a standard leaky toilet wastes about 8 cubic feet per month – the same amount of usage for a single-family home, or about $70. In short, I hurried and fixed the leaky toilets. I recommend you do the same if you notice even the smallest leak to help conserve water."
About Benicia Plumbing
At Benicia Plumbing, we follow our stringent Code of Conduct which states that we will always be friendly and professional, and that every customer will be greeted by the friendly voice of a knowledgeable, experienced and highly-skilled Benicia Plumbing professional. We also pledge to be punctual and courteous, where each client will be served promptly with a polite demeanor and respect. In addition, your Benicia Plumbing technician will always arrive at your location equipped and prepared to resolve your problem seamlessly and by devising the ideal solution for you and your budget.
Sources: www.conserveh2o.org and The Guardian