Fix a Leak: Detecting and Fixing Toilet Leaks
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.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
This is a great article. I wrote a small article similar to this with a quick how to video…I think it would go well with your already good information. I have found that I saved $10 – $15 per month just fixing toilet flappers (I have replaced several).
Again thank you for the good post
Luke Spencer
http://www.popssurvivalguide.com/2010/02/fix-a-leaky-toilet-save-some-money/
A toilet that flushes with no one flushing it may misinterpreted to ghosts living in the comfort room..well, that’s funny..lol Anyway, I had contacted a company that offers great quality services
Water continues to come into the bowl from under the rim between flushes.
i love this post,please keep shearing.
Leaking toilet is the mostly facing problem and its necessary to know and get the ideas how to solve this problem rather than avoiding it. your post is really helpful for us.
Very helpful site guys. Thank you. I heard that most toilet issues in plumbing are from lady products. Great to know how to see a leak also.