The Actual cost of a Leaking Tap and How to fix them.
You see a leaking tap, with a few drops dripping at a time, and you think, “it’s just a few drops,” and ignore it. But little do you know that the few drops you ignore are eventually come back as a costlier error for your budget and the environment.
As you lie in bed, forcing yourself to not hear the water droplets fall, you are flushing your money down the drain-pipe. If you think that the leaky faucet will only cost you your utility bill, - it is only a part of the cost.
An internal leak or a faucet leak for a prolonged period can bring instability to your fixtures, with the dampness and eventually develop a mold that would endanger everyone’s health. If you have faucets and leaks close to electrical fittings, you are opening your home to electrical hazards.
If you still leave it aside, you will foot the cost for the water wastage and the running repairs and the physical pain.
Before we get into disaster relief, let’s see how much a leaky faucet can cost you.
The Cost of leaks!
To the outside, the cost of a water look might look minimal or negligible, but only with a deep-down analysis, we can find the actual cost of the water wastage. While we don’t have a precise amount of drip, let’s take a bold assumption that each drop is around ¼ millilitres (ml).
So, imagine your house has a single faucet that’s leaking, and it drips every second. In total, that is 60 drops a minute, 3,600 drops per hour (60*60), 86,400 drops a day and approximately 31,563,000 drops per year.
When you add up the numbers and convert them into litres of water, this amounts to 21 litres of water wasted each day and a whopping 7,884 (approximately) litres wasted per year. This number only gets more if you have more dripping faucets and even more leaks that go unseen in your plumbing system.
Bring it into financial terms, and the loss you face is more visible. On average, the cost of water is around £0.1 per litre. So, if you have a leak of about 18 litres per day, the chances are that you’ll be spending at least £63 more in utility bills – for just a single drip.
Is it a big problem?
You might be thinking that £63 isn’t too much of a significant expense. True, but considering the hidden costs of the leaking tap can be more than you think.
Continous leaks, both visible and hidden, can eventually bring in structural damage to your home’s flooring, furniture and fittings and even put you in the middle of a health hazard. The dampness caused by the leakages can end up with mould and mildew, and you will end up with professional help in clearing out the mess.
Also, reducing water wastage can be a personal tick on your responsibility list, taking a step towards water conservation. When water is a finite resource and forever depleting, it can be a significant step that you’ll take in conserving the resource.
Finding the Leaks
Unless you have a faucet leaking in the kitchen or bathroom, internal leaks can be tough to locate. If you spot one, it is good practice to repair it immediately. Usually, the ones that are not visible to find are the ones that need immediate attention.
Spotting dripping taps is the easiest to do. If you are unsure whether a tap is leaking, wrap a towel around the faucet. Check the towel for any dampness after a while for any leak. Another way to do it is by wrapping a plastic bag around the outlet.
These tap leaks are found frequently in the house where you have fittings and the frequent use of water. These are the top 4 places where tap leaks occur and how you could spot them.
1 - Washing Machine leaks
Check the washing machine’s inlet and hose for excessive wear; that would eventually become a leak. Replace the valve if necessary.
2 - Dishwasher leaks
The dishwasher is one of the most common places where a leak would occur with excessive usage daily. Inspect the dishwasher by removing the front panel below the door. If you don’t see dripping water, immediately place a cloth underneath to check if there’s any after a few hours.
3 - Sink leaks
Bathroom and kitchen sinks have plumbing fixtures, often hidden inside. Check the valves to see if there are any leaks. Check around the fittings to see any dampened spots. If you spot any dampening, you need to have a leak to take care of.
4 - Toilet leaks
Leaking toilets are a common problem. To find if your toilet is leaking can be done in a few easy steps. Drop a few food colouring drops to the water tank and observe for a few minutes. If the colour of the water in the bowl is the same as the tank, you have a problem to fix.
5 - Backyard leaks
Turn off the stop tap to see the surroundings. Once you’ve done that, observe if the meter dial is still moving. If it is still moving, the leak is probably outside the property. If you are confident that the leak is inside, look for muddy spots and spots where the grass is growing better than the rest.
Then, you most likely have a leak. Time to get professional help.
Pipeline Leaks
However, the pipeline leaks are the less apparent and costlier leaks that need attention. Usually, a pipeline leak is all to do with the internal plumbing system and can occur anywhere from the outlets to the plumbing through the walls. These kinds of leaks cause a whole lot of other issues – inviting chaos into your house.
Pipeline leaks are one of the root causes of structural damage and can potentially cause harm to your flooring, walls and roof. Matters can go out of hand in a matter of seconds if the leaks fall onto any electrical wiring and so on; your home will be a health hazard.
The next steps
In any of these leaks, there are always two ways to act – fix it yourself or get professional help. While fixing it by yourself can look like the ideal option at times, getting professional help can be the wisest option you could choose.
Especially when it comes to backyard leaks and any pipeline leaks, help from a certified professional will always be the right decision you make.
At the end of the day, fixing a leaky tap is better than a leaky tap that makes all your money go down the drain. If you find yourself contemplating a decision to call for help or ignore it, always opt to seek out professional guidance and prevent any further damage from manifesting in your home.
Accurate Handyman is one of the most reliable options you could go to at a time of distress. With years of experience handling all kinds of repairs, maintenance tasks and plumbing, you cannot go wrong.
Get in touch with Accurate Handyman today!
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