Ever wondered what would happen if you turned on the faucet and no water came out?

Threats of water shortages are around us. The future trends in the water supply aren’t looking good for us, and the water demand will be outpacing the supply soon.

But when you hear how much water we waste only because of a leaky faucet, it makes you think if we can avert these threats by fixing every single leak in the house.

Even if you don’t think in that scale, it may still surprise you that you’re wasting so much water and money due to leaks you may not even realize are present in your house.

With that said, how much water does a leaky faucet waste? Find out the answer to that and some more facts below.

1. How Much Water Does a Leaky Faucet Waste?

Leakage in an average home can amount to 10,000 gallons of wasted water per year. Not only that, but 10% of those homes are leaking as much as 90 gallons per day.

Nationwide, around 1 trillion gallons of water go to waste. This equates to the water usage of over 11 million homes.

2. All That Wasted Water Can Help the California Drought

The household water leaks produce wastage can help the California drought by a significant amount. 

To put that into perspective, NASA says that the state has a water deficit of 11 trillion gallons. 1 trillion is 9%, which can already bring water to over 11 million homes in the state.

3. Water Leaks are More Common Than You Think

About 1 in 12 homes – that’s 8.1% of all homes in the U.S. – experience water damage due to leaks inside their homes. How much water does a leaky faucet waste? We stated above one home can leak up to 90 gallons, therefore 8.1% of all US homes can lead to 11.4 billion gallons of water lost per day!

Undetected leaks cause the most damage to a home. It can cause rots in the structure of the house, compromising its integrity. It doesn’t only lead to deformed structure, but dangerous situations, as well.

It also promotes mold and fungal growth, causing various health issues for the inhabitants.

4. Damages From Water Leaks Cost Billions

All these damages can add up in a blink of an eye. After a year, you’ll be looking at over $6 billion worth of property damage in the whole U.S.

The bad news is that it’s not typical for insurance policies to cover water damage from leaks that have gone on for a long time. Homeowners often have to pay for the repair of pipes and the resulting damage fixed out of their own pockets.

This is disappointing since it’s inexpensive to fix a single leak.

5. The Cost to Fix a Single Leak is Only Around $150

A single leak can waste gallons of water every year, costing homeowners thousands in water waste and property damage.

Why wait until it has wreaked enough havoc, though, when you can have it fixed for only $150 to $350 on average?

A leaking faucet wasting a drop a second can already give you 180 more showers per year. In gallons, that’s over 3,000 gallons of water.

6. Fixing a Leak Can Get You Huge Savings

Did you know that if only homeowners fixed the water leaks in their home, they can save up to 10% in their water bills? That’s according to the source that said a household’s leak can go up to 10,000 gallons.

That doesn’t include all the cash you’ll save because you won’t have to spend on expensive repairs and damages.

7. Your Average Winter Water Consumption Shouldn’t Exceed 12,000 Gallons

A family of four shouldn’t be using more than 12,000 gallons per month in the winter.

If they exceed that point, this can be indicative of a water leak. It may even be a sign that you’re dealing with serious water leaks.

Observe your water consumption and bills to see if they’re rising. Even if you’re unsure, a visit from a plumber will help you detect any water leak.

8. The Winter Months Carry Another Risk

Another risk you should watch out for during the colder months are freezing pipes. Frozen pipes are prone to bursting, which will drench your home in cold water.

If the pipes ended up surviving the frost, they’ll have to then pass through the rising temperatures. As the temperature becomes hotter, the frozen pipes will begin to thaw.

This is when you’ll see leaks, and if you’re unlucky, it could still cause pipes to burst.

9. Toilets Are One of the Most Common Causes of Leaks

Toilet bowls always have water sitting in it, which means it can be hard to detect a water leak. This leads to gallons of water wasted per year. You can do a little experiment, though.

Add a few drops of food coloring into the tank, close it, then wait. If the water in the toilet bowl starts to stain, it means it’s leaking. Flush it right after your experiment as it might stain the insides of your toilet.

10. A Warm Floor Can Indicate Water Leaks

Your floor is feeling a little warmer than normal? That might signal more than a hotter day – it can be a sign that a hot water pipe is leaking underneath.

If you can feel it, it might also mean the problem is bigger than a few drops leaking. Investigate or call a professional to help you deal with it ASAP.

11. Professional Plumbers Have Special Tools to Detect Leaks

A professional plumber is who you need for detecting leaks behind walls, in your ceilings, and other parts of the house. They know how to determine if there’s a leak and where the leak is coming from.

They also have gadgets and tools to find the leak and then fix them without delay. An example of which is an amplifier that helps them locate where the leak is using their sense of hearing.

Call a Local Plumber for Leak Detections

After knowing how much water does a leaky faucet waste, you should now take measures to prevent leaks and to detect them as soon as possible. Always leave it to a professional so you don’t waste any more time.

Even if you only suspect a leak, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Contact us for any plumbing-related needs, including detecting leaks and fixing your pipes.

An average of 250,000 homes suffer water leakage damage resulting from burst pipes every year.

In the event of a water leakage problem, you might need the services of a plumbing professional. Many people just hire the first person who says that they can fix the problem.

Unfortunately, hiring an individual whose skills you aren’t sure of is a gamble; they might not only fail to identify and fix the leak but might also exacerbate the problem.

This is why it is recommended that you take your time to research before engaging any plumbing service.

Do you suspect there are water leaks in your home? If you’re in Diamond Bar, CA, you need to hire a plumber. Here’s how to hire the best leak detection plumber.

1. Ask for Their Credentials

Unfortunately, when it comes to seeking professional services, most homeowners tend to rely more on word of mouth rather than accreditations.

If you do get a word-of-mouth referral, ensure that that service has a state-specific business license to operate.

Additionally, they should have individual certifications for each professional on their staff. Credentials are not only essential to ensuring you get stellar services but to also be sure that they are legally allowed to be providing those services.

2. Ask if They Have Insurance

A reputable plumbing company will always have insurance. Due to the risky nature of their work, professionals ensure that they invest in insurance so as to cover any potential losses or damage while on duty.

It certainly helps to know that someone has your back in case something goes wrong.

3. Assess their Communication Skills

A reliable company will prove its worth from the beginning to the end. From the moment they pick your call to the time you complete their forms to finish business with them, they should be courteous and responsive.

Additionally, they should keep you updated about the specifics of their approach to the problem in simple language.

4. Check Their Online Testimonials and Reviews

In the past, one of the best ways of obtaining professional services was through word-of-mouth. Today, however, you are better-off by checking online reviews. This is because they allow you to know the opinion of more than one person.

You will know that the plumber you are interested in is trustworthy if they gave credible reviews that reflect the quality of their services. Most of the time, you are likely to find these reviews on their website.

Keep in mind, however, that they will probably only display excellent reviews. After all, it would be bad business to do otherwise. This is why you should look for reviews on public domains such as their Facebook page or Yelp.

Nevertheless, it is important to be realistic and expect some bad reviews. You are never going to find a company that has a 100 percent satisfaction rate.

Ensure that the leak detection company you are looking into has a lot more positive reviews than negative ones.

5. They Offer Emergency Services

The worthiness of a good plumbing company is often measured by its reliability. After all, if water is already leaking in your home, you want the problem fixed as soon as possible.

A good plumbing company, therefore, is one that provides emergency services.

When evaluating a company, ask them how soon they can get to you as soon as you have called.

6. Check Out Their Website

Another indication of a good plumbing company is their willingness to help out their customers. Their website is a good place to check that out.

For instance, their website should let you know the kind of services they offer.

This makes it a lot easier for you to know whether they can fix the problem that you have. This is often a sign that they are happy and willing to help their customers.

7. Can Give You an Estimate Right Away

An excellent plumbing contractor should be able to provide you with an accurate or close approximate quote of the job after inspecting your home.

And because hidden issues may arise any time, they should be transparent about everything and take the time to explain any extra charges.

What You Get When You Professionally Hire a Plumber

While you might think that you are saving money by not engaging a professional, you stand to lose a lot if the level of damage is way beyond the skill level of the individual you have hired.

Professional plumbers are well prepared to deal with any kinds of leakage and plumbing issues inside your home. Here are some benefits of contracting a professional.

Professional Assistance

Even though a leak might look like a basic plumbing issue, it could be the symptom of a bigger underlying problem. A professional plumber not only knows how to fix the problem but also identify its cause so that the issue does not recur.

Knowledge and Experience

For someone to become a plumbing professional, they have to go through thorough training so as to receive their certification.

This training ensures that they are proficient and thorough in their work. Additionally, they are able to do a detailed diagnosis of your issue to understand the problem and provide a viable solution.

Guarantee of Work

A professional plumber will give you a full guarantee of the work they have done since they believe in their competency. As such, if you have any complaint or grievance in the future, they will come and repair the problem.

Get Your Leak Fixed

If you suspect that you have a leak problem in your home, it is important that you get it looked at as soon as possible. Failure to do so can result in water damage that is typically quite costly to repair.

A leak detection expert will inspect your home so they can identify and fix any problem spots in your plumbing that could be causing the leak.

Are you looking to hire a plumber?

KP Plumbing has been providing Diamond Bar, CA residents with stellar plumbing services for over 10 years. Our aim is to ensure that once the problem is fixed, you never have to call us again.

Contact us today to learn more about our leak detection services.

Installing new plumbing in a home can cost as much as $15,000.

This is a tidy amount of money. The good news is that these are charges for a complete overhaul of the system.

Repair and spot replacement costs are significantly lower than this. However, you have to catch them on time before they become serious problems.

Here are the main causes of pipe leakage and what to do to prevent it from blowing up into a major plumbing issue.

1. Pipe Joint Damage

The pipes’ joints or the bends are the more vulnerable parts of your pipes. These are put in place to ensure that water is redistributed to different parts of your house.

The joints are usually manufactured separately, then attached to straight pipes on each side.

Unfortunately, high water pressure and extreme temperatures can overtax these sections of your pipes.

If you hear banging or clanking, especially when running hot water, you might have joint damage.

To be on the safer side, call in a plumber for leak detection immediately.

2. Severe Corrosion Leading To Pipe Leakage

Despite your maintenance and care regimen, your pipes will undergo wear and tear over time.

If your pipes are over 30 years old, this problem is more likely to occur. The materials used for piping in that era were not as resistant as the materials used today.

Corrosion can eat away at the pipes in your home and create open spaces for water to seep through.

Your piping can also get corroded if your water has a low pH.
Such corrosions can create holes significant enough for you to encounter pipe leaks.

3. Damaged Seals

Aside from the metallic piping, your piping system also has seals. These are located where your pipes connect to a specific fixture.

These are used to keep the connections water tight.

Just as it happens with the piping itself, these seals can degrade over time as well. When seals break apart or crack, it becomes an avenue for water to seep through.

Old and overly dried up seals are the most likely ones to degrade in this manner.

4. Shifted Connections

With time, the pipes in your home might shift. This can be brought about by flooding, erosion, foundation problems, tremors, or earthquakes.

Some symptoms of this include low water pressure, discolored water, and running water noises behind walls.

If you notice these or any other unusual occurrences after a natural disaster, get your plumber in for an inspection.

5. Faulty Pipe Laying

A significant number of occurrences that lead to plumbing emergencies have something to do with how the pipes were laid to begin with.

Typically, there could be small errors or oversights that might even be hardly noticeable. With time, however, they can cause massive water damage.

A plumbing system forces water to flow against gravity in numerous places.
For this reason, it’s important that connectors and pipes are laid correctly, and firmly. Backflow devices should be installed as well.

It therefore imperative to have all your plumbing work done by a reputable plumbing company.

If you move into a house with any plumbing issues, ensure that the team you get to evaluate the problem is well qualified as well.

This will give you the assurance that the problems will be identified and sorted out sufficiently.

6. Clog Issues

On the face of it, drain logs seem like a minor issue. However, ignoring them can severely compromise your plumbing system.

If a clog has corrosives like household chemicals, these could eat into the piping and create holes. This is one reason why using chemical drain cleaners is discouraged.

The main assumption when using these cleaners is that they will run through the pipes and clear them along their lengths. This does not always happen.

Instead, they might get trapped along the system. Standing in one spot in this manner, over time is enough to create serious damage.

If you feel your pipes need a thorough cleaning, call in a plumber to do a plumbing snake or hydro jetting, and remove any obstructions.

7. Excessive Water Pressure

While everyone loves high water pressure, excessively high pressured water can be disastrous to your pipes.

In extreme cases, water pipes can burst.

However, the more common occurrence is leaking water immediately after you turn off the water.

If you notice this severally throughout your house, have a plumber and come in and reset the water pressure to something more manageable.

Why Ignoring Pipe Leakage Is a Bad Idea

Most people ignore the little signs of plumbing problems either hoping that they will resolve themselves, or to avoid the associated costs.

It is ill-advised to go about it this way.

These issues are more likely to get worse than go away. And not just that, pipe leakage can seriously damage your home.

Moisture encourages the growth of invasive black mold. This is not only difficult to eliminate, but also costly and can affect your family’s health as well.

Another problem is that water leaks may warp your home’s walls. This reduces its aesthetic value and will reduce the home’s value if you ever decide to sell it.

Your pipe’s bursting is just about the worst outcome you could get from a defective plumbing system.

If this occurs, you could be dealing with floods. The property damage, as well as the plumbing system overhaul that might be necessary, are enough to dent one’s finances significantly.

Evaluate Your Plumbing System

One way to avoid huge bills and inconveniences is by assessing your plumbing system every so often as well as being keen on the symptoms outlined above.

Having regular inspections done on your property can also alert you to issues before they get out of hand.

KP Plumbing uses the latest technologies to ensure your piping system performs optimally and that any pipe leakage is arrested before causing any significant damage to your home.

Are you a homeowner in Rowland Heights? Check out our testimonials so that you can have the confidence of calling us today for a plumbing inspection.