Three Commong Bathroom Leaks And How To Fix Them

When you want to reduce your water bill, most homeowners immediately begin thinking about ways of reducing water usage by changing their habits or by limiting washings and buying expensive water conserving appliances. While these things certainly cannot hurt, many people overlook a much more basic culprit of wasting water: all their leaky bathroom fixtures and toilets!

The bathroom is the most likely place to find a majority of minor water leaks that are fixable. The bathroom almost always has the most water outlets and is one of the most heavily used rooms in any home. Here are some are few common leaks you may find and be able to fix in a bathroom:

Sink Faucet Drips: A sink faucet that leaks can be annoying, but most people don’t think much of it until they realize how much water they’re wasting each day. Try this: place a paper cup under the dripping faucet and see how much water you collect in an hour and then multiply that amount by 24 hours. Chances are, you’ll be shocked by how much water you’re wasting. In most cases you can get to the old washers in a sink faucet by taking off the handles (a screwdriver may be required) or by twisting off the spout tip. Each bathroom faucet is a little different, so you may need to dig out the manual or take your best guess about how to replace the washers in your faucet.

Dripping or Leaking Shower/Tub Diverter: If you have a shower and bathtub combination in your bathroom then you probably have a shower knob which allows you to divert the water from the tub faucet to the shower head. There are lots of different types of shower diverter valves and knobs, but they all essentially rely on a little rubber seal to block the water from the tub or shower faucet. These rubber seals can wear out and you’ll need to replace the entire shower diverter valve. Replacing that one piece will prevent water from running down the drain from your tub faucet when you’re taking a shower. This can lead to substantial financial savings!

Constantly Running Toilet: A toilet that seems to run intermittently from time to time is almost definitely wasting a lot of water on a regular basis. The easiest, and most common, fix for a toilet that runs from time to time is to replace the toilet flapper. This repair takes a little bit of coordination and some understanding of how a toilet works, but it isn’t too complex and often doesn’t require any special tools.

Many leaks will only get worse over time, so it’s always a good idea to try to fix a leak as soon as it’s discovered to prevent more waste and possible damage. Fixing many of these minor leaks in your bathroom will not conserve water for the environment, but also save you money in your water bill.

Bonus tip: If your shower squeaks and whines when you turn on the water then you may have a hidden leak inside your shower walls! You can fix a leaky shower knob fairly easily and save yourself an expensive plumber repair bill.