(And no, we don’t mean down the street)
RUNNING TOILET: When the water is running from the tank to the toilet continuously.
When you hear your toilet running, have you ever wondered how much water and money you’re throwing down the drain? We have a story that might make you think twice!
We recently had a client call us asking how much water a constantly running toilet leaks? When we questioned his question, we found out that this particular client had just received a 3-month water bill for $1,063! His normal 3-month bill was only $143. The usage on this bill showed 90,000 gallons! With only two people living in the house, could this even be possible??
The answer is, yes! It can! Let us explain…
After talking to this client a little more, they explained that during this 3 month period, they DID have a running toilet for about 3 weeks. Three weeks, not a big deal right? Well, let’s see!
We’ll take the WORSE CASE SCENARIO:
In this case, the running would be full force, that is, the flapper valve is open and the tank is constantly draining.
So let’s say we’re dealing with a standard 1.5-gallon toilet. We’ll assume that it takes approximately 30 seconds for the tank to refill from a standard flush. So that’s 1.5 gallons per flush or per 30 seconds, or 3 gallons per minute. Now, let’s do some real calculations!
60 minutes per hour x 24 hours per day = 1,440 minutes per day
1,440 minutes per day x 3 gallons of water per minute = 4,320 gallons of water per day
7 days per week x 3 weeks = 21 days
4,320 gallons of water per day x 21 days = 90,720!
I’d say it’s definitely a possibility!
So let us give you our BIG TIP OF THE MONTH: Check your toilets regularly for any leaks or continuous flowing! And if you notice a problem, get it fixed quick! We don’t want you to have to face the same fate this client did with your next water bill, so now you know!