If you want to help the environment by saving water and save yourself some money then you should consider checking all your bathroom fixtures for leaks. If they do leak then you’ll want to repair those leaks as quickly as possible. This is one home improvement project that just about anyone can get a start on. Fortunately, many minor repairs around the bathroom are relatively easy to tackle if you have a little patience and a few very basic tools.
The bathroom is the most likely room to find a majority of minor water leaks that are preventable. 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 drips 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 glass 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.
Leaky Shower/Tub Diverter: If you have a shower and bathtub combination in your bathroom then you probably have a shower diverter which allows you to divert the water from the tub faucet to the shower head. They come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, but they all are prone to wear over time. Eventually these shower diverters leak and need to be fixed. Most work by pushing a little valve with a rubber seal back and forth. Over time that rubber can get dirty and crack and break as it dries out. This means that when you take a shower you’ll see water coming out from your tub faucet. That water is falling down the drain and being wasted.
Constantly Running Toilet: If you have a toilet that runs intermittently throughout the day then you might need to replace the toilet flapper to stop that excess water from leaking from the toilet tank into the toilet bowl. The flapper is a rubber or plastic trapdoor which lifts when you flush, and that rubber sometimes wears out and dry rots over time. It’s relatively easy to fix a toilet flapper and often doesn’t even require any special tools.
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.
