Leaking toilets could be hitting Cumbria householders in the pocket and putting the region’s precious environment under needless strain, according to a new campaign by United Utilities.
The claim follows research that reveals that whilst two-thirds of people in Cumbria (63 per cent) were confident they could tell that their loo was leaking, when quizzed on the signs, most respondents were incorrect.
Many assumed that they would see water on the floor. Not true. In modern toilets, leaking cisterns run straight into the toilet bowl, so it’s easy to miss. As a result, up to eight per cent of loos in Cumbria are leaking unnoticed.
Although leaky loos don’t cause an immediate plumbing headache, they are a potential financial drain. For households with a water meter, a single leaky loo could cost up to £400 extra a year on their water bill – money that is literally going down the drain.
Fixing a leaky loo also helps to save the environment. Waterwise estimates about 400 million litres of water leaks from UK loos every day, which is enough to supply 2.8 million people with water.
That’s enough water to supply the populations of Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool and Bristol combined.
What people may not realise is that toilet water is actually drinking water, meaning that when people don’t get their loo fixed, precious clean water is going to waste.
United Utilities’ research found that although half of people in Cumbria admitted having a leaky loo in the past, only a quarter (26 per cent) said they would get it fixed straight away.
‘Not causing inconvenience’
Reasons for this included simply not getting round to it or believing it wasn’t causing them any inconvenience. Lockdown has also played a part in the leaky loo problem with people being more hesitant than ever in letting people in the house.
Now United Utilities has recruited former UK Plumber of the Year Drew Styles, as its leaky loo ambassador to get the message out that fixing leaks loos is good for your pocket and the planet.
Drew will soon be featuring in series of videos to help explain to people in Cumbria and across the North West what leaky loo signs to look out for and why we should be getting loos fixed.
Drew said: “I’m really excited to be part of this campaign and get Cumbria’s leaky loo problem sorted. Leaking loos are a really common problem, but they are usually pretty easy to fix for a trained professional.
“Most of the time I can even get them fixed on my first visit and help stop my customers from losing water straightaway.”
United Utilities customers can check their loos for leaks by ordering a free leaky loo strip online at www.unitedutilities.com/leakyloo
