Save big money with these small bathroom fixes

Replacing the guts on your toilet can save thousands of dollars on an annual basis. A leaky toilet can lose up to 7000 gallons a month. Contractor Darren Voros shows us a few tricks we can do ourselves to save some dough!

Here's a typical breakdown of where the water in your home is going: For showers and baths 35%, toilet flushing 30%, laundry 20%, kitchen and drinking 10%, cleaning 5%.

The most common problems are flushing mechanisms and the flapper. Both can get stuck in the open position. A flushing mechanism needs to be set properly or it can run constantly. Water can overflow in the tank into the bowl.

A flapper can get warped over time and lose it's seal. Small debris can also get lodged in the flapper causing it to lose it's seal. An adjustable flapper can help save water by regulating how much water we need to send down the toilet.

We can convert our existing toilets to make them more efficient by adding a brick or a milk/juice jug. the amount of water you fill the container with is the amount of water you save with each flush. A dye test is a great way to tell if your toilet has a silent leak. Simple food colouring or instant coffee works well. if the bowl turns blue, you have a leak.

Replace valve cartridge

Before doing anything related to a shower or bath, make sure the main water is shut off. Replacing a leaky shower cartridge can save hundreds of dollars per year.

Replace shower head

If you've tried to clean your shower head with no luck, moving to a low flow shower head can also save significant water each year. Low flow doesn't have to mean low pressure. Wrap plumbers tape (aka Telfon tape)around the threads of the wall pipe to ensure a perfect seal.

Cleaning your shower head can be a simple and effective way to re-purpose a shower head. Both vinegar and calcium remover work equally well when the shower head is let to soak for a few minutes. Give them a scrub with an old nail brush or scouring pad, and then rinse with water.