Leaks

One of the most costly and most overlooked problems in any house is water leaks. It is so easy to ignore little drips, thinking, 'oh, I can take care of that later; it's not bad. A toilet that runs too long, a faucet, that seeps water around the edge, a pool that you are constantly adding water to, a soft spot in your lawn made by a sprinkler line leak, all of these cost.

I have, in a previous post discussed fixing pipes. It is easy and so are other plumbing issues. A leaky faucet my be as simple to fix as just tightening the fitting at its bottom. Water doesn't quite shut off? Simple. Turn off the water going to the faucet; there are usually shut off s nearby. Remove the faucet and find the washer on the bottom and the rubber O-ring a bit higher up, and replace them.

Toilet running? Replace the fluid master. Just pay attention to how you remove the old on and put the new one in the same way.


Have a drip from a faucet handle? Look where the faucet stem goes back into the assembly; you will see a nut. Tighten that and, usually, that will solve the problem.

A quick note. When you tighten any plumbing parts, you just need to get them nice and snug. Do not crank down on them like King Kong. They will break. I know because I have done that.

Another note. When screwing fittings together, use Teflon tape and/or pipe dope. They make for a better seal. Do not cross thread the fittings. If they resist tightening, stop immediately and begin again. If you jeep trying to tighten them, you will ruin the fittings.

As always, if you do not feel comfortable doing the repairs yourself, do not do them. Call a plumber. They are not cheap, but wasting water is far more expensive. Water is becoming a commodity that is more and more precious and it is both morally and financially unacceptable to waste it. A slow leak can cost you a hundred gallons a day or more. Check periodically for leaks and fix them immediately.