Do You Have A Sneaky Leaker?

A what? Sneaky leaker?! I thought I had plenty of things to worry about in my day-to-day life, however then I saw an ad showing a toilet and asking me if I had a sneaky leaker.

Considering that a toilet is an ordinary household item, and I am an Ordinary Environmentalist, I thought I better take a closer look at the ad to see what this was all about.

It turns out that a toilet that is running without your knowledge can waste more than 100 gallons of water per day. I had to think about how to put that in context. The average household water heater is around 50 gallons. That means one sneaky leaker wastes two water heater tanks worth of water every day - or 730 water heater tanks (36,500 gallons) in a year.

A quick calculation of water costs, based on my city's website, showed that one sneaky leaker could cost me $133 per year. I could buy a nice spa treatment for that kind of money! 

Oh dear... but how would I know if I had a sneaky leaker? Fortunately, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency offers little dye tablets for FREE. You just pop one in your toilet tank and research spa packages while you wait. After an hour, if the toilet bowl water has turned blue you have a sneaky leaker.

If you are like me, you have no idea how to fix a toilet. Finding a handy friend with tools is a good option, or you can go on their website and find all kinds of videos and information on how to fix sneaky leakers.  The good news for me was that I didn't have a sneaky leaker... but then again, now I need to find a new reason to justify an afternoon at the spa!

Grandma Wasn't Thrifty, She Was An Environmentalist!

My grandma grew up during the depression and was noticeably thrifty when it came to her housekeeping. If, for example, she found a stray sewing stick pin while cleaning, instead of tossing it away, she would pin it to her shirt and deposit it back into the pin cushion later in the day when she cleaned her sewing area. 

Grandma used Grandpa's old undershirts and yes she made me dust with old flower-print underpants (clean of course). She was a fan of vinegar for a variety of physical ailments  cooking and of course cleaning. She could in fact clean most of her house using vinegar and water. I am proud to say I am following Grandma's example and use very few chemicals to clean my house, instead my go-to cleaners are vinegar, lemons and hot water.

Here is a great article by Earth 911 that gives examples on how to use common household items such as vinegar and baking soda to reduce chemical use while you clean your house. 

Clean Your Whole House with Vinegar, Baking Soda and Lemon

Grandma worked hard, didn't live in a world filled with chemicals, and managed to live to be 99 years old. She is still teaching me how to live as an Ordinary Environmentalist!