Gilley says, “Tackle your toilet problem today before you waste hundreds of gallons of water tomorrow!”
In honor of National Fix a Leak Week, Gilley has some facts and tips about water waste, plumbing leaks, and running or leaking toilets. It’s important for all homeowners to check for leaks on a regular basis to make sure they aren’t potentially wasting thousands of gallons of water each year. It’s estimated that more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from homes across the country every year!
Did you know that a constantly running toilet can waste 200 or more gallons of water a day? Most of the time, a running toilet can easily be fixed in just a few steps. Gilley shares some tips for determining the source of a running toilet and solutions:
- 1. Replace the flapper
An old or worn out flapper is often to blame for a running toilet. Because toilet flappers are usually made of rubber or plastic, they can easily wear down over time, and when they do, don’t fit as tightly where they need to in order to keep your toilet sealed and water from leaking into the bowl. Most of the time all it takes is a new flapper to stop your toilet from running.
- 2. Adjust the float arm
In an older style toilet, a float arm attaches to a float ball above the overflow tube. Bend the float arm carefully either downward or upward to stop the toilet from running. Adjust it a little as you go and make sure not to over bend the float arm. If the float ball happens to be filled with water or if it’s cracked, replace it.
- 3. Adjust the float cup
In a newer toilet that has a fill valve, there is usually a float cup. Using the adjustment clip on the pull rod attached to the float cup, slide the cup up or down. This adjusts the water level to stop the toilet from running.
A running toilet is easy to detect because you can hear it. However, you may not as easily know if water is seeping into the bowl from the tank. Check by using food coloring or colored dye in the tank water, and after a few minutes, see if the dye has flowed into the bowl. If so, water is probably coming through the overflow tube or the valve seat.
Remember, Gillece can help with all of your plumbing problems, leaks included, along with a comprehensive plumbing inspection to detect leaks from fixtures and valves throughout your home. You can save water one leak at a time!
Learn more about Fix a Leak Week: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/fix_a_leak.html
