Most people would agree that leaky faucets are annoying. Despite the widespread agreement on that point, however, far too many people simply ignore leaky faucets rather than having them fixed. The general attitude is that while a leaky faucet is mildly inconvenient, it doesn’t have any significant or lasting impact, and is therefore easy to dismiss. This is, in fact, not true. Leaky faucets actually have a tremendous impact, not only on the environment but on you personally. Let’s take a look at how much water a leaky faucet actually wastes.
One Drop at a Time
The reason that so many people disregard leaky faucets is because they look at them from an in-the-moment perspective. If you look at a faucet that leaks one drop of water every few seconds, you probably wouldn’t think much of it. However, the impact that faucets have is measured over a much longer period of time. Let’s assume that you have a single leaky faucet in your home that drips once every minute. That’s an extremely conservative estimate compared to most leaky faucets, which tend to drip much faster. Even so, that one faucet will waste approximately 34 gallons of water a year. Now, let’s say that the faucet drips once every 2 seconds, or thirty times a minute. That adds up to around 1,041 gallons a year. A leaky faucet can easily waste more water than it takes to fill a swimming pool each year.
The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that the average household wastes more than 10,000 gallons of water per year due to various leaks. That has a very real impact on the environment, but it also wastes a lot of money. All those thousands of gallons of water are still going to show up on your water bill, even though you didn’t notice them being used. If you want to save some money on your home’s utilities, get your leaky faucets fixed before they cost you.
If you have a leaky faucet, schedule an appointment by calling Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing. We provide professional kitchen plumbing services throughout the North Potomac.