How Much Water Does a Dripping Faucet, Dripping Shower Head or Running Toilet Waste?

You know what is sounds like… a steady drip, drip, drip of water splashing into the sink or tub. Make sure to place the dripping faucet high on your priority list to avoid high water bills. A very typical leak of 10 drips per minute wastes nearly one gallon per day, or 29 gallons per month. In many places, this costs less than $1 per month. But what about fast drips? A faucet or shower head that leaks 120 drips per minute wastes 11 gallons per day, or 330 gallons per month. This could cost $6 per month, per faucet!

How Much Water Does a Running Toilet Use?

Since water from a leaky toilet runs straight into the sewer line, you may not notice it right away – until you get the water bill. A constantly running toilet may waste about eight gallons per hour, or 200 gallons per day. Left unnoticed, a running toilet could waste over 6,000 gallons per month. Depending on the rate you pay for water and sewer, this could cost as much as $70 per month! And that’s assuming you only have one running toilet in your home.

Have a high water bill? Other factors that can cause a high water bill:

Leaks and drips aren’t the only contributing factors to high water bills. Other wasteful practices that drive up costs include:

• Running the dishwasher partly full (wastes 320 gallons per year)
• Leaving the tap open when you brush your teeth (wastes 8 gallons per day)
• Letting the water run for five minutes while washing dishes by hand (wastes 10 gallons every time)
• Failing to fix a broken sprinkler head (wastes 2,400 gallons per month)