Water Leaks and the waste of water associated with the leaks!

Water Leaks --- My last post explained the reasons behind leaks. What causes them and how to best protect your plumbing system from having them.

Today, I will speak on just how much water is wasted on various types of leaks.

The number one source of wasted water within the home or place of business is the toilet... Often overlooked and frequently procrastinated on. When a toilet leaks: it tends to be internal (leaking directly from the toilet tank into the bowl and down the drain) and as such, it doesn't cause any visible damage - resulting in the repair being pushed off to some other time... Down the drain goes our precious resource and your money. A leaky toilet wastes between 300 gallons (a slow leak) and 60,000 (constantly running toilet) per MONTH!

The best way to detect a leak besides visually seeing or hearing the leak - is to drop a little food coloring into the toilet tank and wait 10-15 minutes without flushing. If the water in the bowl turns color, your tank is leaking.

Leaking faucets can also increase your water bills!
 Slow Leaks - 450 gallons per month
 Steady Drips - 750 gallons per month
 Slow Stream - 3,000 gallons per month
 Steady Stream - 12,000 gallons per month

The Underground Leak / Under concrete slabs interior aka "slab leak" / Exterior Leaks / Pin Hole leaks
can leak at a rate of (per size of pinhole)
 1/32" leak - 3,600 gals/month
 1/16" leak - 10,800 gals/month
 1/8" leak - 36,000 gals/month
 3/16" leak - 199,000 gals/month
 1/4" leak - 340,000 gals/month

Underground Slab Leak

Leak on 1/2" copper fitting

Leak on 1/2" Type M copper pipe

Some Tell-Tale signs a leak exists...
- Water bill increase
- Gas bill increase (indicating a hot side leak)
- Hot spots on ground level floors
- Musty/Mildew smell!
- Water meter dial is rotating with no known use of water
- The constant sound of running water or a hissing noise with no known use of water.
- The sporadic sound of water running or what sounds like the toilet is filling up after its been flushed
- Luke warm or hot water coming out of the cold side tap.

The following metrics were based on the incoming water pressure being between 60-80 psi. The higher the incoming pressure the more waste...

Have a question? Comment below and I will do my best to answer - Thanks for taking a few moments to read my blog, by Anthony Pouliot with http://www.aap-allamericanplumbing.com/leak-detection/