Energy Home Improvements Part III - CFLs Replace Leaky Faucets

This is part 3 on ways to take steps to make you home more energy efficient.  You can go to the previous entry Part 2 or go to the next entry Part 4 here.


Leaky faucets can be hard to detect and hard to fix. We oftentimes see them and ignore them as its only dripping slowly so it’s no big deal. In reality it can be a big, I had a slow leak in a bathroom toilet and my water bill one quarter went from $90 to $690. You should check each faucet, both indoor and outdoor, as well as toilets and bathtubs. The more leaks you have and the faster they are dripping the more water you are wasting. You will cost you money possibly two different times, once on your water bill and possibly again on heating bill for your water heater. Here is a nice calculator from the USGS to show much water is being wasted by dripping faucets.



From my experience the most common places I have seen leaks is outside or in a basement washtub. These are typically the oldest faucets in the house and are not replaced as frequently. I have two outdoor faucets and one leaks but I have temporarily fixed it with one of these brass faucet couplers.

Later this year in the fall I plan to go through this and properly fix it, right now with the shrubs and bushes as big as they are it is tough to get in there and do some proper plumbing work.  Another place that can have a leak as I mentioned above is in the toilet.  I always use this as its a good reference for troubleshooting the toilet and replacing the problem parts, which are typically the flapper, the float or the chain, though sometimes it’s just all the seals have worn out.
Here are two useful guides to replacing faucets if they are where you have leaks wikihow and homerepair. Compression ones are very common because as you loosen and tighten them the valve over time won’t sit properly in the housing. Sometimes this can be fixed simply by cleaning mineral
deposits and other crude in the housing other times the faucet has just reached the end of its usefulness.

Previous   Next