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Three Easy To Fix Bathroom Leaks And What To Do About Them

If you're looking to conserve water or just reduce the water bill then one of the first thing you can do yourself is to go around your house performing a quick water usage audit. Sure, changing your behavior is one way to control your water usage, but an even bigger savings may come in finding and fixing all those little drips and leaks around your bathroom that can end up costing you hundreds of dollars in water usage over the years.

You can really check your entire house for water leaks, but the bathroom is the easiest place to begin. The bathroom almost always has the most water outlets and is one of the most heavily used rooms in any home. Moisture has a tendency to dry out and wear on things a lot more than dry air, so it's always a good idea to keep on top of any repairs in the bathroom before they get out of control. Here are some common leaks to look for and some basic ways you can fix them:

Leaky Sink Faucet: A sink faucet that drips can be annoying, but most people don't think much of it until they realize how much water they're wasting each day. If you really want to know, put a cup under the dripping faucet for an hour and see how much water you collected. Was it a full 8 ounces? Now multiply that by 24 hours and you're wasting over a gallon of water per day! Most dripping faucets can be fixed by replacing the rubber washer in the spout. You may have to take the tip of the spout off and dig out the old washer to get the right size. This is a pretty easy fix in most cases, though different sink designs sometimes make it a little trickier than others.

Dripping Shower/Tub Combo: If you're bathroom has a full tub with a shower in it, then you probably have a diverter knob you have to turn to make the water come out of the shower head or the tub faucet. The valve behind this can wear out over time, which means you'll be losing water through the tub faucet when you take a shower. With a screwdriver and wrench you can probably take out and fix the entire shower diverter valve. It's an inexpensive fix and it could save you lots of money in water bills over time.

Intermittently Running Toilet: A constantly running toilet can often be fixed with a cheap plastic part called the toilet flapper. This repair often requires no special tools at all, though you may have to turn off the water to the toilet when you make the repair. The toilet flapper separates the toilet tank from the bowl and it wears out over time. It's often difficult to measure how much water a leaky toilet flapper really wastes, but it's still a repair worth tackling.

All you need to fix these leaks is a little time and a minimal amount of tools. That being said, you should probably only attempt repairs you feel comfortable trying. Fixing some of these minor leaks in your bathroom will not conserve water for the environment, but also save you money in your water bill.

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by: James Smith Total views: 11 Word Count: 580
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 Time: 10:13 PM 0 comments