A Trillion Gallons Wasted: Fix-A-Leak Week Combats Common Plumbing Leaks, Promotes Water Conservation
Waco, Texas (PRWEB) March 14, 2015 -- The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Fix a Leak Week, celebrating its seventh anniversary, will be held March 15 - 22, 2015. Mr. Rooter Plumbing will participate by offering customers complimentary whole home plumbing check-ups and an online tool designed to calculate how much water a home is wasting due to leaks.
Record freezing temperatures have led to massive amounts of damage to homes across the nation. The harsh winter has caused thousands of homes to experience burst and leaking pipes, causing major damage – to both the home and the wallet. Ubiquitous leaky toilets and dripping faucets add to the annual waste of water, drowning the nation in a concerning increase in wasted resources.
According to the EPA, untreated leaks can add up to more than one trillion gallons of wasted water per year, equaling more than the combined annual water usage of Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.
“Most people don’t realize that a small faucet drip is costing them a pretty penny and wasting a very valuable and limited resource,” says Mary Kennedy Thompson, licensed plumber and president of Mr. Rooter Plumbing. “Oftentimes, the leaks found in the home are fairly simple and inexpensive to correct. These include dripping faucets and leaking toilet flappers and valves.”
Mr. Rooter Plumbing offers these tips and tools to help alleviate the burdens a leak can cause:
Check the home's water usage during winter months. If usage exceeds 12,000 gallons a month, it is possible a leak is the culprit.
If a faucet is leaking, replace the faucet washers and gaskets if they appear worn. Tighten loose shower heads.
Running toilets can waste more than 200 gallons of water daily. A simple method for checking for leaks is placing one to three drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. After 15 minutes, if the water in the bowl has changed color, the toilet may have a leak. Old flappers are often the cause of these leaks. Replace any flappers that have decayed or retained mineral build-ups to alleviate this problem.
“These simple tips can save a homeowner money and can save millions of gallons of water annually,” says Thompson. “All of our small efforts combined can lead to big change.”
About Mr. Rooter®:
Established in 1970, Mr. Rooter is an all-franchised, full-service plumbing and drain cleaning company with approximately 300 franchises worldwide. Recognized by Entrepreneur magazine among its “Franchise 500” and Franchise Times Top 200, Mr. Rooter franchisees provide services to both residential and commercial customers. Mr. Rooter began franchising in 1974 and is a subsidiary of The Dwyer Group, Inc. For more information or to find the location nearest you, please visit our Web site at http://www.mrrooter.com.
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Desirae Franco, Mr. Rooter Plumbing, http://www.mrrooter.com, +1 254-759-5894, [email protected]
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