There’s never a good time to have a shower leak, but this month we’re giving the topic extra attention because it’s Fix a Leak Week, a week to think about the effects of wasteful water habits on conservation efforts. Fix a Leak Week is part of the WaterSense initiative set up by the EPA.
If your child goes to elementary school with a member of the Gary’s Quality Plumbing family, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade teachers were given these worksheets to send home with their students. They are a great way to use math, science, and conversation skills between parent and child to learn about how easy it can be to waste water. Most of us have no idea just how much water is wasted when we ignore simple leaks. Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.
A showerhead leaking at 10 drips per minute wastes more than 500 gallons per year. That’s enough water to wash 60 loads of dishes in your dishwasher.
People don’t often think about what that means in electrical use, but treating that water to go back into our potable water supply adds to that expense.
If a faucet or showerhead runs unused for even 5 minutes, enough energy is used to power a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours.
If you didn’t get those worksheets to work through with your kids from school, you can download them here. Stay-cationers may enjoy working on a project like that with the kids, and you may even encourage them to do a better job of turning off the water. You might, however, realize you want a faucet that turns itself off with a sensor! If that’s the case, of course – give us a call, we’re more than happy to share our suggested models with you. (We’ll take care of those leaks correctly, too!) We’re here for you, 972-424-6479.
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Fixing Failing Faucets is Just Good Stewardship
In California, we are in the middle of a huge drought. With water being metered and charged by the gallon used, a leaky faucet or shower can cost you A LOT of money. I had a friend who had a $300 water bill because his kids left the hose on all weekend long.