How much does a dripping faucet cost per month?

PlumbingWater Loss Diagnostics

Water Leak Rate & Cost Calculator

Calculate gallons of water wasted and the monthly financial cost of dripping faucets, running toilets, or pressurized pipe pinhole leaks.

Plumbing Field StandardsWater Loss Diagnostics

Engineering formulations calibrated to IPC, UPC & NEC specificationsSub-Zero Cold Climate Tolerances

Quick Summary & Key Answer

A dripping faucet at 60 drips per minute wastes roughly 5.7 gallons of water per day (170 gallons per month). A running toilet flapper leak wastes 150 to 300+ gallons per day (up to 9,000 gallons per month), adding $50 to $120+ to your monthly water bill.

1 Gallon = approximately 15,140 faucet drips.
A running toilet can silently waste over 70,000 gallons of water in a single year.
A 1/16" pinhole leak at 60 PSI loses over 800 gallons of pressurized water daily.

Interactive Calculator

Adjust inputs for real-time results

Type of Leak

Drips Per Minute (if faucet)

Water & Sewer Rate per 1,000 Gallons$/1k gal

$/1k gal

Calculated OutputWater Waste Calculated

Wasted Water Per Month

171 Galgallons

Estimated Monthly Extra Cost: $1.54 /mo
Estimated Annual Extra Cost: $18.75 /yr
Wasted Water Per Day: 5.7 gal/day
Equivalent Showers Wasted (20 gal each): 9 showers

Note: A running toilet leaking 200 gallons per day adds $50 to $100+ to your monthly municipal water and sewer utility bill.

How to Detect Silent Water Leaks

Drop food coloring into the toilet tank; if dye seeps into the bowl within 15 minutes without flushing, the flapper is leaking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions regarding this calculation and code compliance

A single dripping faucet typically costs $2 to $10 extra per month, while a running toilet can easily cost $60 to $150 extra per month.