So you have a leaky faucet or toilet and you tell yourself you will have it taken care of later.  Leaking fixtures sends your water and your money down the drain.  It is much better to have the leak repaired rather than let it continue to waste your money.

From the EPA website:

•  

  The Facts on Leaks:

  • Leaks can account for, on average, 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, which is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.
  • The amount of water leaked from U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons per year. That’s equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined.
  • Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.
  • Common types of leaks found in the home include leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. 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 valves, and showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts don’t require a major investment and can be installed by do-it-yourselfers.
  • The vast majority of leaks can be eliminated after retrofitting a household with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances.

   

  Leak Detection:

  • A good method to check for leaks is to examine your winter water usage. It’s likely that a family of four has a serious leak problem if its winter water use exceeds 12,000 gallons per month.
  • Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.
  • One way to find out if you have a toilet leak is to place a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color shows up in the bowl within 15 minutes without flushing, you have a leak. Make sure to flush immediately after this experiment to avoid staining the tank.

   

  Faucets and Showerheads:

  • A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year. A home with WaterSense labeled toilets could use that water to flush for six months!
  • Leaky faucets can be reduced by checking faucet washers and gaskets for wear and replacing them if necessary. If you are replacing a faucet, look for the WaterSense label.
  • A showerhead leaking at 10 drips per minute wastes more than 500 gallons per year. That’s enough water to wash 60 loads of dishes in your dishwasher.
  • Most leaky showerheads can be fixed by ensuring a tight connection using pipe tape and a wrench.

   

  Toilets:

  • If your toilet is running constantly, you could be wasting 200 gallons of water or more every day.
  • If your toilet is leaking, the cause is most often an old, faulty toilet flapper. Over time, this inexpensive rubber part decays, or minerals build up on it. It’s usually best to replace the whole rubber flapper—a relatively easy, inexpensive do-it-yourself project that pays for itself in no time.
  • If you do need to replace the entire toilet, look for a WaterSense labeled model. If a family of four replaces its older, inefficient toilets with new WaterSense labeled ones, it could save more than 16,000 gallons per year. Retrofitting the house could save the family approximately $2,000 in water and wastewater bills over the lifetime of the toilets.

   

  Outdoors:

  • An irrigation system should be checked each spring before use to make sure it was not damaged by frost or freezing.
  • An irrigation system with pressure set at 60 pounds per square inch that has a leak 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (about the thickness of a dime) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.

   

   

For more information on water leaks, visit the EPA’s website:  http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/fixleak.html

Call B&W Plumbing and Heating at 317-243-3581 and have your leak taken care of today!

…….With a Planned Service Agreement from B&W Plumbing and Heating.  Whether it’s Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning or Drains, Planned Service Agreements (PSA) will receive 10% on any service call.

Including the 10% discount, PSA customers will receive these additional benefits:

Benefits include:

     * No overtime charge.

     * Priority scheduling.

     * 24 Hour Service.

When you purchase a PSA, we will provide you with two precision tune-ups (one air conditioner tune up and one furnace tune up) to help provide a quality, efficient and safe indoor environment.

Procedures performed:

     * Clean or replace filters

     * Check and clean inside cooling coil if accessible (during A/C check)

     * Check primary and secondary drains

     * Add algae tablets to condensate pans

     * Vacuum blower housing/compartment

     * Clean and check condenser coil (during A/C check)

     * Lubricate all moving parts where applicable

     * Check and tighten all loose electrical connections

     * Check operation pressures for proper refrigerant charge (during A/C check)

     * Monitor voltage and amperage draw on all motors

     * Monitor air conditioning cycle (during A/C check)

     * Adjust gas pressure (during furnace check)

     * Check and adjust pilot operation if applicable (during furnace check)

     * Monitor flue draft for safe operation (during furnace check)

     * Check and test safety controls

     * Monitor furnace cycle (during furnace check)

     * Check for cracked heat exchanger (during furnace check)

Click the link to schedule online and save $10.00 on your PSA:  http://www.bplusw.com/NeedService.html

We have a Aprilaire model # 550 furnace humidifier and water

is continuosly draining from it even though our furnace isn’t on.  Is there a problem with it?

Ron, Indianapolis, Indiana

Ron,

Thanks for contacting us & your question. Water should be coming out of the humidifier drain when there is a call for humidity in the heating cycle. If water continues to come out of the drain, the solenoid valve may be stuck in the open position or the solenoid valve is getting continuous power not allowing it to close. The humidifier pad should be replaced and the humidifier serviced at the beginning of each heating season. Please e-mail or call me at our office at 243-3581 with any additional questions.

Thank you,

Dave Mejean

HVAC Manager

B&W Plumbing and Heating Company, Inc.

It is hard to beleive, but this will be our 50th year serving Central Indiana’s plumbing, heating and air conditioning needs.  We are also proud to say that after 50 years we are still Family / Locally Owned.  We would like to thank our customers for making this possible and we look forward to serving you and your families for at least the next 50 years.