When you’ve got a catastrophic plumbing leak, and water is spraying or gushing out of a fixture or a damaged pipe, you know you have a serious emergency on your hands. And it’s clear that if you don’t address it immediately, your home will be severely water-damaged, and your water bill will be through the roof.
But what if you have a smaller leak? Can you safely ignore it? After all, a few drops of water won’t do much damage, will they? Actually, the water from a plumbing leak can add up surprisingly quickly. How much water can your minor plumbing leak waste? What should you do about it? We’ve got answers for you.
One Drop at a Time
In many cases, a plumbing leak is minor enough that it’s only dripping, not flowing or spraying. One drop at a time does not look like much water. But how much will it add up to? The US Geological Survey is an organization that aims to inform Americans about water use and prevent water-supply problems in dry regions, and they’ve got some great facts.
A single drop of water once per minute, from one leaking fixture or pipe, will produce a gallon of water in just ten days. That water is being wasted, yes, but it’s also going somewhere, and it will do damage in the process! And if your leak is just a little bit faster, dripping ten times per minute—just once every six seconds—you’ll have a gallon of water leaking into your house in a single day.
Average Water Waste
The Environmental Protection Agency has some other information about just how much water is being wasted in American homes on average, and it’s pretty shocking. The estimate is that the average American home wastes 90 gallons of water per day. That’s ten thousand gallons of water a year being wasted in just one household!
This can be water lost down the drain to dripping sink faucets or showerheads. It can be lost into the ground through a slab leak, which is when piping underneath your foundation is leaking. And some of it could be coming from pipes under your cabinets, inside your walls, or under your floors. That water will cause tremendous damage to your home.
Avoiding Plumbing Leaks and Water Waste
Paying for ten thousand extra gallons of water a year is unpleasant and unnecessary, and you’ll be doing the watershed a favor if you prevent that water from being wasted. And if any of the water is ending up soaked into your walls, floors, or other structures of your home, you really need to get that sorted out ASAP.
Having a qualified plumber check for and address any and all water leaks in your home is always a good idea. It’s especially recommended if you have any reason to suspect a problem. This could be excess humidity or mold in your home, cracks in your foundation, odd behavior from your water heater, water stains, warm patches on walls or floors, or an increase in water usage, or of course noticeable dripping.
Today’s plumbers use advanced technology to locate and repair plumbing leaks while avoiding damage to your home and yard, so don’t hesitate to schedule leak detection in Tucson, AZ!
Contact Picture Rocks Cooling, Heating & Plumbing today to schedule an appointment with our professionals.