I decided today to check my toilets for leaks. Our water bill doubled last year (no notice except an article in the newspaper from the next town over, which we don't read) and we just got a letter saying that as of Aug 1, the rates will "substantially increase" to pay for some nonsense the state is requiring. Needless to say, we can't afford to pay even MORE for water, so I decided to investigate further.

We already limit showers, use the water-appliances only when they are full, don't wanter our lawn, use aerators and water-saving devices (shower heads, low-flow toilets, plastic jug in the toilet that isn't low-flow, etc.)

So I thought I should check for toilet leaks, and I found one! The toilet I installed when we moved in is fine, but the other toilet is leaking like crazy. Hopefully it only needs its "guts" replaced, because it is an unusual conrner (triangular tank) toilet, ad I imagine replacing it would be a lot more costly than the $40 we paid for the other one. (I am in the process of waiting for the second test to be done rigt now.)


Anyways, here is a link that will tell you how to test for a leak (just use dye of some sort- food coloing, instant coffee, powdered drink mix, etc.) and also how to test to see precisely where the leak is. There is also info about just how MUCH hat leak could be costing you.

If you do check and find a leak, let us know. It only takes a second to perform the test, then another second to check the results 30 minutes later. I think it will be interesting to see how many of us have a leak and never suspected.

http://www.toiletology.com/leaking.shtml