The Cost of a Water Leak from Your Plumbing
Posted on December 19, 2018
Do you have a leaky faucet? Or maybe a running toilet? You may think a dripping faucet isn’t that bad. It is only dripping a few times a minute. A few drips a minute couldn’t cost you that much, right? You might be surprised to find out that a leaky faucet or a running toilet can end up costing you quite a bit. The cost will go up if you have a water leak or pipe burst.
Leaky Faucet
Using the Drip Calculator by the USGS is the best way to figure out how much a leak is costing you. Essentially it is the number of homes, the number of faucets in each home, and the drips per minute. Let’s say you have the following:
- Number of homes= 1
- How many faucets(dripping)= 3
- Number of drips per minute=4
If you put that information into the calculator here is what you would get:
- Drips per day= 17,280
- Liters per day= 4
- Gallons per day= 1
- Gallons per year= 416
You may think that a little bit of a water leak from each sink is not a big deal, but looking at the numbers above, you can see how much water you are using. You should also take into account that the longer you wait, the worse the drip will get and the more water you will use.
Pipe Leaks
The numbers above are just for leaking faucets; they are not for a pipe leak. While a pipe leak maybe less noticeable and annoying, they are actually worse. A leak in a pipe that is the size of the tip of a pencil can use 970 gallons in 24 hours. Even pipes with low pressure can cause a lot of extra gallons of water to be wasted. You may not even know you have a pipe leak due to the pipes being underground. Here are some signs to look for when it comes to a leaky pipe:
- Water stains on ceiling or wall
- Musty smell under the sink
- Water in your yard or running down the street by your yard
- High water bill
If you have any of these signs, calling a professional is a good idea. They will know how to find and fix a leak.
Running Toilet
You now know how much water is wasted for leaking pipes and faucets, but what about running toilets? Running toilets are annoying, and they do waste a lot of water. The exact number is 200 gallons per day. That is a lot of gallons per day.
Know the Cost of a Leak
Knowing how much extra water a leaky faucet, a leaky pipe, and a running toilet can cause is a good thing. However, you do not know how that translates into actual costs. For a leaky faucet, you will be paying an extra $20 a month. If your pipe has a leak, you will pay an extra $100-$600 a month. For a running toilet, you will pay an extra $75-$150 per month.
Get Help!
Having a leak in your plumbing can lead to other things such as flooding. If you have this issue, then call the experts at All Brite Cleaning.