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Pro tip: swapping out my old toilet flapper saved me $40 on my water bill | Soapbox Showdown - Free To Speak

Pro tip: swapping out my old toilet flapper saved me $40 on my water bill

My water bill kept creeping up every month and I couldn't figure out why. After 3 tries checking for leaks with food coloring, I finally found the toilet was silently running in the guest bathroom. Replaced the flapper for $8 at Home Depot and next month my bill dropped by $40. Anyone else ever get burned by a tiny rubber part like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_susan2mo ago

yeah that happened to me too, except mine was the flapper in the master bath and it was such a slow leak I didn't catch it for like three months. I kept thinking my kid was taking longer showers or something, nope just a stupid little piece of rubber giving out. what got me is how easy it was to fix once I actually looked at it, I just twisted the old one off and snapped the new one on, took maybe 90 seconds. my bill dropped almost $35 after I swapped it, felt like I'd been getting robbed by my own toilet. now I tell everyone to check those flappers first thing when their water bill goes up.

cole_flores442mo ago

and @the_susan is totally right, that flapper fix saved me $40 a month and took less than two minutes.

logan5252mo ago

Hear me out but I actually disagree a little. Yeah flappers can waste water but $40 seems high unless you're on a really expensive water rate or have a massive leak. Most toilet flapper leaks are slow drips, not a steady stream, and that usually costs like $10-15 a month tops. I've swapped out flappers on three different rentals and never saw a drop that dramatic. Did you maybe have a different issue going on at the same time or was your bill just unusually high to begin with?

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