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Fix a Leak

Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, 11,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks? Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year. That's equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined.

Below are some tips to help you find and fix leaks.

Fix a Leak Week: March 15 -21
How to Find Leaks
How to Fix Leaks
Leak Facts
Leak Repair Video

EPA WaterSense Leak Information
Fixing Leaks Around the Home
Fix a Leak Week Educational Materials
Facts on Leaks

Repare goteos y fugas alrededor del hogar (En Español)

Fix a Leak Week: March 15 -21

Because minor water leaks account for more than 1 trillion gallons of water wasted each year in U.S. homes, the city of Greeley is promoting “Fix a Leak Week,” March 15 through 21, 2010. Fix a Leak Week is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) WaterSense® program as an annual reminder to Americans to check household plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.

“Leaks can add up to more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted at home every year—that's enough to fill a backyard swimming pool,” said Ruth Quade, Greeley 's Water Conservation Coordinator. “ Greeley is participating in Fix a Leak Week to help homeowners save money on their utility bills and to help save water in our community and for future generations.”

The city of Greeley is holding workshops to teach residents how to find and repair leaks. The workshops will all take place on Monday, March 15 at the Greeley Recreation Center ( 651 10 th Avenue ). Three half-hour workshops will take place that day to accommodate a variety of schedules; workshops begin at 12:15 pm, 5:15 pm, and 6:00 pm. The workshops are informal, interactive, and encourage audience participation and questions.

To help consumers here in Greeley and across the country save water, the city of Greeley and WaterSense are promoting ways to identify and repair dripping faucets, running toilets, and leaky showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts pay for themselves quickly and can be installed by do-it-yourselfers, your favorite handy person, plumber, or WaterSense irrigation partner.

If homeowners have to replace a plumbing fixture, The City of Greeley reminds them to look for the WaterSense label. WaterSense labeled toilets, faucets, and (soon) showerheads have been independently tested and certified to save water and perform as well as or better than standard models. WaterSense also partners with certified landscape irrigation auditors, designers, installers, and maintenance professionals. Visit www.epa.gov/watersense to find WaterSense labeled products.

How to Find 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 probably have a leak.

  • A good way to check for leaks is to examine your winter water usage. It's likely that a household has a serious leak if winter water use exceeds 2,000 gallons per month for each person in the home.
  • Search for toilet leaks by placing 10-15 drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. If any color shows up in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak. Be sure to flush immediately to avoid staining the tank.

  • An irrigation system should be checked each spring before use to make sure it was not damaged by frost or freezing.

 




 

How to Fix Leaks

  • 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.

  • Most leaking showerheads can be fixed by ensuring a tight connection using pipe tape and a wrench.

  • If your toilet is leaking, the cause is most often an old, faulty toilet flapper. Over time, this inexpensive rubber gasket decays, or minerals build up on it. It's usually best to replace the whole rubber flapper—a relatively easy, inexpensive do-it-yourself project that pays for itself in no time.

  • If you decide it's time for a new commode or faucet, look for WaterSense labeled products, which use 20 percent less water and perform as well or better than standard models. The vast majority of leaks can be eliminated after retrofitting a household with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances. The Greeley Water Conservation Program also provides rebates on the purchase of new low-flow toilets.

  • Check your garden hose for leaks at its connection to the spigot. If it leaks while you run your hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.

Leak Facts

  • A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year.

  • 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.

  • If your toilet is running constantly, you could be wasting 200 gallons of water or more every day.

  • 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.