Of all the water used in your home, do you ever consider the water that is wasted? According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, every year in the US 1 trillion gallons of water is lost to leaks. Of the many types of water waste in the average home, toilet leaks are the most common, and often the most costly. The more water lost to leaks, the higher the cost of water and sewer bills become. Finding a toilet water leak is the first step to decreasing water waste and costs in your home or building.
The most expensive type of toilet water leak just happens to be silent (the irony, right?), making it difficult to detect by just listening out for it. On average, toilet leaks waste between two and five gallons of water every minute. This may not seem like much, but that figure becomes 120 to 300 gallons every hour, and 2,880 to 7,200 gallons of water by the end of just one day. Although this water is never actually used, it is accounted for as part of the overall water bill, and can result in paying up to $100 more every month in water and sewer expenses.
Detecting a toilet water leak is fairly simple and cost-effective too. These leaks can be spotted in a few simple steps using only a $0.20 toilet leak tablet. Drop the dye tablet into the toilet tank and lightly stir it. After approximately 15 minutes have passed, check the bowl for color. If color appears, there is a toilet water leak. You will most likely need to replace the toilet flapper to seal off the leak.