What is Fix a Leak Week?
The Facts About Leaks
- The average household's leaks can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year, or enough water to wash nearly 10 months’ worth of laundry.
- Household leaks can waste more than 1 trillion gallons annually nationwide. That's enough water to supply Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico for more than a year.
- Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.
- Common types of leaks found in the home include worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and leaking showerheads. All are easily correctable.
- Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills.
- Keep your home leak-free by repairing dripping faucets, toilet flappers, and showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts don’t require a major investment.
- Most common leaks can be eliminated after retrofitting a household with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances.
Get Educated!
Enroll in GEF Institute's online course Sustainable Water Systems and earn professional development or academic creditDownload the Efficient Water Technologies lesson from GEF and American Standard
Explore GEF and American Standard's interactive water tour for homes and schools
Download these 4 lessons from the EPA for Grades 3 - 5
Download these 4 activities from the EPA for Middle School students
Download the Fix a Leak Week fact sheet for families
Visit GEF's K-12 Sustainability Lesson Clearinghouse for more stand-alone lessons about water!
Make a Difference and Fix a Leak!
Find out how to Fix a Leak in your home!
- Check toilets for silent leaks by putting a couple drops of food coloring in the tank and waiting 10 minutes; if colored water appears in the bowl, you may have a leak.
- 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.
- Winter months are the prime time to check water use and see if you may have a leak. If a family of four exceeds 12,000 gallons per month in the winter, you probably have leaks!
Here’s how you can address leaks found at home:
- Check for leaks. Look for dripping faucets, showerheads, and fixture connections. Also check for toilets with silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into the tank and seeing if it appears in the bowl before you flush. Don’t forget to check irrigation systems and spigots too.
- Twist and tighten pipe connections. To save more water without a noticeable difference in flow, twist on a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator.
- Replace the fixture if necessary. Look for WaterSense labeled models, which are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models.
Give your Bathroom a Mini-Makeover!
Bathrooms are by far the largest water users in the home, accounting for more than half of all indoor water. Giving your main bathroom a mini-makeover by installing a WaterSense labeled toilet, faucet, and showerhead that will save your household money on utility bills and waste less energy and water! Look for the WaterSense label on toilets, faucets, and showerheads and know that you’ll be saving water and money without a noticeable difference in flow. WaterSense labeled products are independently certified to use at least 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models. Learn more by exploring American Standard's Water Saving Calculator. This neat tool shows how much you can save by switching to water efficient fixtures depending on the type of building you're in.
You can also visit American Standard's website to watch videos about conserving water and much more!
