Toilets are accountable for nearly 30 percent of the entire water usage in each and every home. However, if your toilet has a leak that number could skyrocket to 40% or even 50% depending on the severity of the leak. Every minute a leaky toilet is left to its own devices, perfectly good water is trickling away never to be seen again. As a professional Toronto plumber we’ve had a lot of experience with water leaks and can at least 90% of leaky toilets are left for over 4 months before toilet leaks are detected.
What Are The Main Causes Of A Toilet Leak?
A leaking toilet is typically due to an ineffective flush valve system in addition to fill valve problems. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for homeowners to discover these sort of leaks. These are the two most common that problem will result in the need for plumbing repairs in the Toronto region.
The most often discovered culprit of a toilet leak is due to an ineffective flush valve system. If you take a close look at the bottom of a toilet tank, you will see what is referred to as a flapper (or flush valve ball). The flapper (or ball) is meant to form a completely watertight seal, preventing water from entering the bowl until the handle is pulled. However, after an indeterminate amount of time this all-too-important piece of the toilet deteriorates due to continual wear and tear (or sometimes simply age). When this deterioration occurs, it allows for water to slowly leak from the tank into the bowl. This leak is quite common, and it can be subtle enough that no one notices it for a very long time. In addition, this type of leak is very quiet so there is no real way to tell without a proper inspection.
Next to the flush valve, fill valve problems are also a large cause of toilet leaks. The next most common cause of a leaky toilet is a ball cock (aka fill valve) that has been broken or is improperly placed. If the shut-off valve is not closing completely, or is simply placed too far up, it will cause a problem. When this happens, the tank will continually be filling up with water, which will then enter the overflow tube and run down the drain, wasting a lot of water in the process.
Water Leaks Lead To Money Leaking
The fact is that water leaks cause an enormous amount of water loss. A silent but deadly toilet leak can waste up to 500 gallons of water each and every day that leak is present. This is nearly four times the amount of water that your average run of the mill person uses on a daily basis. Either you’re concerned about your money, or you’re concerned about your money in addition to the environmental impact this wasted water creates. Either way, this is a problem you need to fix.
Dependent upon the size of your water tank it is very possible to end up paying over $800 a year extra, solely due to a preventable toilet leak problem. It’s always recommended to seek professional from a plumber whenever you are interest in plumbing repairs, but there are a few ways you can tell if you toilet is leaking before you pick up the phone.
Discover If Your Toilet Is Leaking
Detecting a leak in your toilet is incredibly simple it’s no wonder people don’t perform this test every month. You simply pour some coloured liquid into the toilet tank, many people use food colouring since it’s so easy to see. Wait for an hour or so, and then look in your toilet bowl. If you see coloured water in the bowl then you’ll know that there is water leaking from the tank. Next step will be to pick up the phone (or surf the web) to find a plumber that can handle these sort of plumbing repairs.
Unfortunately, discovering leaks that are caused by the fill valve is not as simple of a task. While the toilet tank is full, remove the cover and see if the water is flowing into the overflow tube. Chances are if you see water flowing down the tube then you have are a victim of a leaking toilet. It is possible to even rig up your toilet with a special sensor that will alert you if your toilet happens to be leaking. Most of these devices use simple LED lights that flash allowing you to determine if your toilet has a problem or not. As soon as your toilet leaks, a special buzzer will sound alerting you that your toilet has a problem. These devices are incredibly affordable, costing as little as $100. This is nothing when you compare the cost of a toilet leak that goes untreated.
Remember; always trust your toilet repairs to a trained, licensed plumbing company.
Some times a long time Toilet Leak can cause severe damage on the wall. When Toilet Leak occurs, water will slowly enter to cracks of the wall and it will affect wall’s sustainability.
This is one potential problem with a cracked toilet, if your toilet has any troubles you should contact a plumber before the problem becomes costly.
I am looking for a special sensor to detect leaks on my toilet but couldnt find anything at Home Depot