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How Much is That Running Toilet Really Costing You?

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How Much is That Running Toilet Really Costing You?

Running toilets can be extremely annoying.  They can literally keep you up all night long.  It’s not just that constant dripping, swooshing noise that keeps you awake, either; it’s the knowledge that water that you pay for is being carried away down the drain for no good reason, other than the fact that you have a leaky seal and no time, money or inclination to fix it.

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As your sleep-addled mind wanders through a number of mixed-up scenarios, you realize that somewhere out there, in an arid desert on the other side of the planet, a tree, a camel, or even a human family is dying from lack of water.  And all of the water that’s dripping out of your toilet could save them.  And that is really what keeps you up all night.

What is a Running Toilet?

Contrary to the mental picture of a toilet bowl with little feet entering a marathon, a running toilet is what happens when water is constantly running from the tank to the toilet bowl, and then draining from the toilet bowl.  When you hear this sound all night long, you’re no doubt wondering how much water – and money – is leaking down the drain.  Here’s how much.

There is a story about a customer who received a water bill for over $1000 for just three months of service, up quite a bit from the normal $150.  Upon checking the water usage, the customer found that it had gone up to a whopping 90,000 gallons for the three month period, or 30,000 gallons a month.  There were only two people living in the house, and no hot tubs, swimming pools, public showers or anything of the sort going on at the house.  How could this be possible?  Surely the water company made a mistake.

The Case of the Runaway Toilet

Well, with a little detective work, it was revealed that the toilet had been running for a period of around three weeks during the time of the water bill in question. Still, would that make such a ghastly difference?  Let’s think about that for a moment.

In the very worst case scenario, if the flapper valve were stuck open and the toilet were continuously draining, a standard 1.5 gallon toilet would completely drain in approximately 30 seconds.  Doing some standard mathematical equations, at a drainage rate of 3 gallons per minute, that adds up to 4,320 gallons of water per day, or 90,720 gallons of water going down the drain over a period of three weeks.

Okay, maybe the flapper valve was not stuck completely open for the entire time, but you can definitely see the possibilities.  If all of this happened in just the period of three weeks, imagine how much water could be lost over a period of three months!

Call a Plumber!

So when you’re lying awake at night, listening to your toilet running or your faucet dripping, take some comfort in the fact that you are not actually crazy.  You really are listening to the sound of money going down the drain.  If you think that you can’t afford a plumber, think again.  When that humongous water bill arrives, a Jacksonville plumber will no doubt turn out to have been a much more economical solution by comparison.

Water is a precious commodity on our planet.  In these times of global weather change and increased water conservation efforts, there really is no excuse to waste this precious commodity with a dripping faucet, running toilet or other plumbing problem that can so easily be remedied with one call to a licensed professional.

At Fenwick Home Services, our main goal is customer satisfaction. We will provide a free estimate to you. Call us today to schedule yours today!

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