Fix a Leak: Detecting and Fixing Toilet Leaks
Posted on March 17th, 2009 - 10:30 AM
How do you know when a toilet is leaking? Faucets and showerheads will drip, which is a dead giveaway for a leak. But what about toilets?
Have you ever experienced your toilet “running” for a long time after a flush, or had to wiggle the handle to make it stop, or does it ever randomly “run” at night, even when nobody flushed it? A “running toilet” is a leaky toilet.
If you’re toilet is leaking, most likely it’s a bad flapper. If you look inside the tank, you’ll notice a ‘rubber stop’ at the bottom of the tank. This device is no longer creating a water-tight seal, and your toilet is leaking. To confirm, you can drop a couple drops of food coloring in the tank. If you see any food coloring leak into the bowl, your toilet is leaking.
You can purchase replacement parts for your toilet at any hardware store or home improvement center. This should stop the problem. And, these replacement kits are pretty easy to install.
However, if you’re taking the time to make this fix, you should check to see how many gallons your toilet uses with each flush. The federal mandate is 1.6 gpf, but if your house is old, or you haven’t remodeled in quite some time, chances are you have a toilet that uses 3.5 gpf or more. And that’s a waste of water - a waste of 2 gallons of fresh drinking water with every flush. If you have an old toilet, consider replacing it with a new, WaterSense labeled toilet. These new toilets don’t sacrifice design or performance.
To get some great information on new toilets, and what to look for, check out www.epa.gov/watersense/.
* EPA does not endorse any contractor, commercial service, or enterprise.
Tags: fix a leak, Leaks, Water
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Question of the Week
March 17th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
I fixed two toilet leaks in my home about two minths ago. The result was about 12000 gals of water and $30 saved per month.
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March 19th, 2009 at 5:06 am
of fresh drinking water with every flush. If you have an old toilet, consider replacing it with a new, WaterSense labeled toilet. These new toilets don’t sacrifice design or
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March 25th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I found a nice free book about fixing leaky faucets and saving fresh water on the free book quest. I am glad more people are talking about this. It can be a big saver.
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May 27th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I always fing it amazing when they say water used in sewage treatment is wasted or lost. Where does it go? The loss is in the extra energy used to operate the sewage system as well as the energy used to pump the water to the home, the water is reused in one way or another.
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August 25th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Great article. The average home wastes roughly 14% of their water usage on leaks in the home. With the government predicting water shortages in 46 states over the next five years. Detecting and repairing water leaks is something everyone needs to do. On a more positive note the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute reports that 22% of the toilets in the US are now low flow toilets and plumbers are reporting greater demand for low flow products.
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