More than one trillion gallons of water are wasted in U.S. homes each year from easy-to-fix leaks. That’s why the City of Fort Lauderdale is participating in Fix a Leak Week March 18 through March 24, 2013 and we encourage you to join us.
Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense® program, Fix a Leak Week is an opportunity to improve the water efficiency of your home by finding and fixing leaks. In the average home, household leaks waste more than 10,000 gallons of water each year. That’s the amount of water needed to wash 270 loads of laundry!
In celebration of Fix a Leak Week, take the EPA’s “I’m for Water Pledge” and commit to checking your home for leaks, twisting and tightening connections, and replacing broken fixtures. After taking the pledge, it’s time to start looking for leaks around your home that may be wasting gallons of water every day. Here’s how to identify leaks around your home:
- Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak.
- Check for leaks. Look for dripping faucets, showerheads, sprinklers, and other fixtures. Don’t forget to check irrigation systems and spigots too. If you’ve identified any leaks in your home, they should be repaired as soon as possible. However, before attempting to fix them yourself, it’s important to know where the main water shut off valve to your house is located, especially if there is ever an emergency. (NOTE: Leak detection dye tablets are available at no charge in the City’s Utility Billing Office on the first floor of Fort Lauderdale City Hall, located at 100 N. Andrews Avenue.)
- Twist and tighten hose and pipe connections. Fixing a leak may involve simple tasks such as tightening connections or applying pipe tape to a fixture. If at any time you’re not comfortable with fixing a leak or you’re unsure about how to do it, it’s always best to seek the help of an experienced professional.
- Replace the fixture if necessary. Look for WaterSense-labeled models that are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models.
More tomorrow on leaky toilets! (I’m sure you can’t wait!)
