That Minor Leak Is Wasting Frighteningly More Water Than You Know

That minor water leak in your home is wasting frighteningly more water than you know.

According to Missouri American Water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the average residence loses 10,000 gallons of water per year thanks to minor water leaks. So how can you save that precious resource, and probably save yourself some money on your water bill?

Missouri American Water suggests doing these things to help you detect leaks:

• Don't use your water for two hours and check your water meter at the start and end of that two-hour period. If the meter changes, you might have a leak. A good idea might be to do this when your whole family is heading out for a couple of hours.
• Drip a drop of food coloring in your toilet tank and see if the water in the bowl changes colors within 10 minutes. So if you drop some green food coloring in the bowl that turns the water green. Then you come back 10 minutes later, and it's a different shade of green, I'd expect lighter. You have a leak.
• Check those faucet gaskets and pipe fittings for surface leaks, which will be indicated by water on the exterior of your pipes.

We waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually nationwide from household leaks, and one in ten homes has water leaks that waste 90 or more gallons of water per day. By the way, you can save about 10% on your water bills by fixing water leaks in your home according to Missouri American Water.

You can learn more about identifying and fixing water leaks in your home on the Missouri American Water website.