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Are Your Dual-Flush Toilets Wasting Water?
Dual-flush toilets were designed to help save water, using six litres of water per flush or thereabouts compared to the nine or more that traditional toilets use – but it seems that these facilities could actually be wasting water instead.
According to a BBC report, around 400 million litres of water is thought to leak from toilets around the UK on a daily basis, with much of this down to dual-flush products because of confusing flush buttons and leaky mechanisms.
The amount of water that is lost each day from our toilets is apparently enough to supply 2.8 million people – the combined populations of Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, Belfast, Liverpool and Bristol.
Water efficiency manager with Thames Water Andrew Tucker explained that the problem is now getting worse as bathrooms are modernised and renovated, saying: “Because we’ve got so many [loos] that continuously flow through the day, collectively that water loss is now exceeding the amount of water they should be saving nationally.
“The volume of water loss is getting bigger every day as more people refurbish and retrofit their older toilets and as we build more homes, so we’re actually adding a problem.”
There are ways in which you can tell if your dual-flush toilet is leaking, such as using leak strips in the toilet bowl or food colouring or cistern to see if this appears in the toilet pan. You could also consider installing a water smart meter, which will reveal high usage or increase constantly, even overnight.
It’s estimated that around three billion litres of water is lost through leakage across England and Wales every day, so tackling the problem of leaky toilets and carrying out an audit of your site to see if you have any other leaks causing issues is essential when it comes to protecting this precious resource for future generations.
The problem with leaks is that they can be very difficult to find, as they’re either so small that they’re barely noticeable or they’re hidden away below ground – so out of sight and out of mind.
Calling out a water leak detection services company like H2o can prove invaluable when it comes to both identifying and repairing leaks on your business premises, saving water and saving you money into the bargain.
If you do have a leak, all that wasted water will be costing you money and you could also find yourself saddled with hefty repair costs if you leave leaks for too long, as escaping water can cause real damage to buildings, which can be very expensive to sort out.