How Much Water Does a Dripping Faucet Waste?

Dripping spouts are a national problem. They happen every now and then in various homes and can cost you about 10% extra of your usual water bill.

So, how much water does a dripping faucet waste? (Use Calculator)

Well, a dripping spout can waste about 7 to 8 gallons of water in a day. One leaking faucet can cost you approximately 3000 gallons of water wasted in a year.

If the drip rate is higher, the waste and the costs will also be higher. Not to mention the number of faucets increasing will also increase the waste.

In this article, I will discuss the amount of water a drippy or leaky spout can waste. You can also know how much water is in every drop and why these dripping spouts occur. To learn more, read below.

How Many Drops Per Second Is a Gallon?

Before we dive deep into how much water comes from dripping faucets, knowing about the standard units might help a bit. It is apparent that faucets drip with tiny drops of water.

But what is the volume of water in each drop? Have you ever wondered about that? According to the US Geological Survey, each drop from a dripping faucet equals about 1/5 to 1/3 milliliters.

Now, we know a thousand milliliters comprise one liter of water. So, each drop would make about 0.0003 liters. That’s a really tiny amount, huh?

But when you think about a faucet dripping each second, in only one hour, that can become about 1.1 liters of water wasted.

Next, there are about 3.8 liters of water in a gallon. So, if your dripping faucet had to make up a gallon with its water droplets, that could be done in only about 3 hours! (Considering a 60 drops rate per minute)

Now you know that even if a drop of water being wasted sounds much less, continuous dripping wastes more water than you can imagine.

You might think, “Should I let my faucets drip tonight because it’s not much water?” But one can become several nights and waste hundreds of gallons of water.

How Much Water Does a Leaky Faucet Waste Per Day?

Leaky faucets have many disadvantages. They’re wasting a lot of water daily and increasing your water bill drastically for no reason. A gallon of water consists of approximately 11,400 drops.

If a faucet drips at a rate of one drop per second, it wastes 3600 drops in an hour. In 24 hours, it becomes 86,400 drops. That means, in a day, only one leaking faucet can waste about 7.6 gallons of water! That’s 5.5 dollars of money wasted every day on average.

Well, here, I’m talking about only one faucet’s drip. Imagine you have more than a single spout dripping at home! Moreover, what if the rate of dripping is more than 60 drops a minute?

Some faucets with extreme leaks can drip at 120 drops a minute; that’s 7200 drops or 0.6 gallons in an hour. In a day, you’ll be wasting 15 gallons of water. Imagine the number of valuable chores you could do with such a large amount of water.

Washing the dishes, making coffee, cooking- all of these things could be done more than once with 15 gallons of water. A dripping faucet just makes it all go to waste.

How Much Money Are You Wasting Behind a Leaky Faucet?

As I’ve already mentioned, one leaky faucet can waste about 7 gallons of water per day. In one year, that waste can lead to roughly 2500 to 3000 gallons of water waste, depending on the quantity.

You’re wasting almost 1900 dollars on average behind that waste every year! That is a huge sum of money for many, and letting such money simply go to waste is morally wrong.

Furthermore, you can do many other productive and useful things by saving that money. Invest such a large sum behind something good instead of letting it go to waste like that.

You can even get a new luxury faucet with that kind of money. So, think twice before disregarding the question- how much water does a leaky faucet waste?

Why Do Dripping Faucets Occur?

Dripping spouts are not uncommon. They happen very often, and most of the time, we don’t pay much attention to them. But if the dripping gets severe, you must immediately fix it.

Therefore, to fix a leaky faucet, you must first know the reasons behind it. Leaky spouts can occur due to the following reasons−

• Worn out cartridge
• The tap is not turned off properly
• If you have a cross handle, it may lose its grip strength over time
• O Ring Damaged
• Old washer

These are some of the most common reasons a spout may drip continuously.

Some ask if it is worth it to fix a leaky faucet. Well, it is because of all the reasons I have mentioned above. Not only does it waste a huge sum of money, but you’re also wasting so much water.

How to Calculate My Water-Dripping Waste?

I know all the approximations and calculations I’ve stated above might sound very confusing at one go. Besides, the dripping rate is different in every home, so assuming yours just by reading my information might be stressful.

That’s why I recommend this simple Faucet Drip Calculator to understand how much water your faucets are wasting every day.

You can input your drip rate and number of faucets here. The calculator will instantly show you how much water is wasted in a day and a year. Try it out!

Final Words

Dripping spouts are never a good thing. One drop doesn’t seem much, but it’s an issue when this dripping continues for days. You’re wasting gallons of water every day and every year without any meaningful output.

Through this article, I hope you now have an idea about how much water does a dripping faucet waste every day. So, fix it immediately; otherwise, you’re costing yourself thousands of dollars.