Having your toilet constantly run can be noisy as well as frustrating. Worse, though, you’re wasting water, and this will eventually increase your water bill. Here are some reasons your toilet runs, what it costs you, and what you can do to solve the problem.
How Much Water Do You Lose Monthly?
A toilet that runs all the time may seem like a minor problem. And while it may be a small problem to fix, it can do a lot of damage to your wallet. A toilet that continuously runs will lose about one unit of water a month or about one gallon of water per hour. One unit is 748 gallons of water. That is, incidentally, a slow toilet leak. To put this into context, when you let your sprinkler run for an hour in your garden, you’re using about 400 gallons of water. A slow toilet leak wastes about four times more water than a shower leak.
In Waukesha, WI, the average residential customer uses roughly 6,432 gallons of water per month. If you have a toilet that continuously runs, you may end up using roughly 7,180 gallons of water per month instead.
When you have a large toilet leak, on the other hand, you could be losing up to 400 gallons a day. This could cause a dramatic increase in your water bill per month, easily doubling it.
Reasons Your Toilet Runs
When your toilet constantly runs, there are a few possible reasons. One reason could be your flapper chain. If your flapper chain is too long, it will get caught in the rubber flapper, preventing the flapper from sealing. When this happens, water continuously leaks out of your toilet tank, and your tank never fills up completely. If you don’t pull the chain out, you will continue to lose water until the next time the toilet is flushed. If the chain is too short, it will prevent the flapper from sealing. Again, water will leak out.
Another reason is a broken flapper. If your flapper is worn out, it may not seal properly. Fortunately, you can easily replace a broken flapper on your own.
Finally, your float may be out of position. If the float is positioned too low, you’ll get a weak flush. If it’s positioned too high, water will go into the overflow tube. A float that’s too high will result in a toilet that constantly runs.
Fixing a Running Toilet
Fixing a running toilet is usually easy if the problems are with the flapper or chain. However, if there is a crack in your toilet tank that’s causing a leak, you will need to call a professional plumber. At Jeff’s Custom Care, we can help with this or any other plumbing issue you encounter, including gas lines, remodeling, water heaters, water treatment services, and more. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.