Drip. Drip. Drip. Many people consider a leaky faucet a mere annoyance. But if every household in America and Canada had a faucet that dripped once each second, 928 million gallons of water a day would leak away, according to the American Water Works Association. That’s a lot, considering the AWWA predicts the average household uses approximately 146,000 gallons of water each year. But water is wasted in more ways than through a leaky faucet. Here are some …

You may be flushing your money down the toilet and not even know it. Twenty percent of all toilets leak, which secretly raises homeowners’ water and wastewater bills. But other problems – like a toilet that won’t flush completely or runs continuously – aren’t secret at all. Take a whirl at inspecting your toilet. It’s more convenient and less expensive to systematically check the plumbing yourself, before you have to call in the professionals to take care of a …

As a homeowner, you are not legally permitted to perform your own renovation work, with the exception of the electrical, but it is strongly recommended amateurs not do this as disastrous results can occur.