From silent leaks to full-blown floods, toilets tend to leak in every household. A toilet leak can waste thousands of gallons of water and cost you a lot of money until you discover it on your water bill. Let’s explore the reasons behind this common household woe and provide insights into how you can prevent and address toilet leaks.
1. Worn-out Flapper Valve: The Silent Culprit
The flapper valve, responsible for releasing water into the bowl during each flush, is a common source of leaks. Over time, the rubber material can deteriorate, causing water to seep into the bowl continuously. This, alone, can waste thousands of gallons worth of water and raise your bill significantly.
2. Faulty Fill Valve: The Phantom Filler
The fill valve, which controls the water supply to your toilet bowl, can also be a troublemaker. Whenever it fails to shut off properly, it causes an ongoing leak into the water bowl and down directly to the sewer system, nonstop. This might be harder to detect, as there's no visible puddle to indicate the issue.
3. Loose Or Damaged Connections: The Dripping Joints
Water supplies and flush mechanisms involve numerous connections, seals, and joints. Over time, these components can become loose or worn, leading to tiny but persistent leaks. If left unchecked, these leaks can cause water damage to the floor and surrounding areas.
4. Flawed Wax Ring: The Base Breakdown
The wax ring that seals the toilet base to the floor can degrade or shift over time. When this happens, water can seep out from the base whenever you flush. Not only is this unsightly, but it can also lead to hidden structural damage if left unaddressed.
Prevention And Remedies
Regular inspections are an outdated way of addressing these issues. Management companies regularly conduct periodic checks by sending a crew from apartment to apartment to check for any signs of moisture around the toilet base or on the floor. This is both costly and a waste of their maintenance team’s time.
Live leak detection is the solution you might be looking for. IoT technology can allow you to have visibility into how every fixture in every apartment is operating without needing your team to set foot in the apartment. As a leading provider of leak detection, usage monitoring, and billing services for landlords, DrizzleX is proud to provide landlords with a complete solution. To learn how DrizzleX may be able to help tackle hidden and persistent leaks at your buildings, click here!
DrizzleX will send you or your maintenance team alerts when a toilet, or any other fixture, is malfunctioning. This will save you both the time and money that is involved with searching for hidden leaks.
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