It’s a sound every homeowner knows: the steady drip… drip… drip of a leaky faucet in the middle of the night. Or that phantom flush—the sound of your toilet refilling when no one has used it.
It’s easy to tune out these minor annoyances. We add them to our mental to-do list and promise we’ll get around to them eventually. But have you ever stopped to calculate how much that “tiny” leak is actually costing you on your monthly utility bills?
The truth is, those small leaks add up to a surprising amount of wasted water and money. At Scott’s Plumbing, we want to show you the real cost of putting off these simple fixes.
The Surprising Math of a Leaky Faucet
That seemingly insignificant drip can have a major impact over time. Let’s do the math on a faucet that drips just once per second:
- Drips per day: 86,400
- Litres wasted per year: Over 11,350
- What that means: That’s enough water to take more than 180 showers or wash 270 loads of laundry!
A single slow drip is literally sending thousands of litres of clean, treated water right down the drain each year—and you’re paying for every drop. A faster drip or a small, steady stream wastes exponentially more.
The Silent Money Drain: The Running Toilet
While a dripping faucet is annoying, a running toilet is often the more expensive culprit because it can be silent and go unnoticed for months.
This common problem is usually caused by a faulty or worn-out flapper—the rubber seal at the bottom of the tank. When it doesn’t seal properly, water constantly seeps from the tank into the bowl, forcing the tank to keep refilling.
Just how much water can it waste?
- A moderately running toilet can waste 20-30 litres per hour.
- That’s up to 700 litres per day and a staggering 250,000 litres per year.
This kind of silent leak can easily add hundreds of dollars to your utility bills over the course of a year.
The Easy Food Colouring Test: Not sure if your toilet is leaking? Try this simple trick. Add a few drops of food colouring into the toilet tank (the upper part). Do not flush. Wait for 20-30 minutes. If you see any of the colour appear in the toilet bowl, you have a leak.
The Smart Investment of a Quick Repair
The good news is that most of these common leaks are quick, easy, and inexpensive to fix for a professional. A worn-out washer in a faucet or a faulty flapper in a toilet are simple parts to replace.
When you think about it, a professional repair isn’t an expense—it’s an investment. The small cost of the service call is often less than the cost of letting the leak continue for just another few months. By fixing it, you get an immediate return on your investment through a lower water bill.
Stop Draining Your Bank Account
Don’t let another day go by listening to your money drip down the drain. Those seemingly small leaks are impacting your wallet and the environment more than you think.
Heard the drip or suspect your toilet is running? Contact Scott’s Plumbing today. We’ll fix your leaks quickly and efficiently, saving you money for years to come.