Small leaks, big losses: find and fix them

In many Indian towns and cities, every bucket of water counts. Yet some of it quietly drips away from our own taps and toilets. The good news is that most household leaks are cheap and quick to fix, and finding them takes only a few minutes.

How much a drip wastes

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense programme, a tap that drips once every second can waste more than 3,000 gallons a year: that’s over 11,000 litres. The same programme lists worn toilet flappers, dripping taps and leaking valves as the most common leaks in a home, and notes that they are usually easy to fix.

Three ways to find hidden leaks

• Read your water meter, if you have one, before and after a two-hour period when nobody uses water. If the reading changes, there is a leak somewhere.
• Do the colour test on toilets: put a few drops of food colouring in the flush tank. If colour shows up in the bowl within 10 minutes without flushing, the tank is leaking. Flush afterwards so it doesn’t stain.
• Look for damp: check under sinks, around taps and at pipe joints for water on the outside of pipes.

Fixing the usual suspects

Old and worn washers and gaskets are the usual cause of a dripping tap. They are small, inexpensive parts from any hardware shop. Turn off the water supply before you open the tap. If you’d rather not do it yourself, a plumber can often fix several taps in a single visit.

Put RO waste water to use

Water purifiers that use reverse osmosis (RO) send part of the water they take in down the drain. Instead of letting it go, collect it in a bucket and use it to mop floors, wash vehicles, flush toilets or clean the balcony. Don’t drink it: it carries the salts the purifier has removed.