Simple Water and Money-Saving Tips for Fix a Leak Week

Did you know that over 1 trillion gallons of water is wasted each year in the U.S. due to household leaks? Leaks! You could fill the Rose Bowl Stadium 24,000 times with that amount of water or take 48 billion baths. In many cases, we’re not even aware that we’re wasting water – but those drops sure add up. The thought of that much water being wasted due to leaks (rather than a long, steamy shower) sounds pretty crazy.

Wasting Water, Wasting Energy

What’s more, when you waste water, you also waste energy. Anyone that has running water in their home relies on pumps, somewhere along the line, to get the water from point A to point B. Sometimes, it’s just from a well in your yard to your home. Many other times, it’s from a water filtration plants many miles away. Those pumps take energy to run. To add another level to it, energy production is itself the number 1 use of water in the nation.

Flushing Money Down the Drain

If none of that get you, then let’s bring it back to simple dollars and cents: wasting water wastes money. You pay for every gallon of water coming into and out of your home in your water bill and again in your sewer bill, whether you actually use it or simply let it drip away. So you pay for that wasted water twice. The EPA estimates that homeowners can save about 10% on their water bills by fixing leaks. Motivated yet?

Simple Tips to Spot & Fix Leaks

In honor of Fix-a-Leak Week March 16th-22nd, take a few minutes to survey your home to find any sneaky (or not so sneaky) leaks and take the time to do a simple repair. We’ve got tips and resources below.

Use the EPA’s Household Leak Checklist to find potential leaks. A checklist is also available for commercial facilities.

One of the top culprits is a leaking toilet. In fact, 1 in 5 toilets has a leak. Conduct a simple toilet leak detection test to make sure you don’t have a sneaky, silent leak.

Many fixes are simple and only require a few tools. For DIY repair help, check YouTube for tutorials such as this one from Home Depot. For more resources and simple tips to fix leaks around the home, check out the US EPA Fix a Leak Week page. They even have resources to get kids involved and learning!