Enter your drips per minute and number of faucets to find out exactly how much water your leaking faucet wastes. The Drip Faucet Calculator shows your daily, monthly, and yearly water loss in both gallons and liters — so you can see the true cost of that steady drip.
Water Wasted Per Year
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Water Wasted Per Day
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Water Wasted Per Month (30 days)
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Total Drips Per Day
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Total Drips Per Year
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At a typical drip rate of 10 drips per minute, a single faucet wastes roughly 0.5 gallons (about 1.9 liters) per day. Faster drip rates or multiple faucets multiply that loss quickly. Use the calculator above to get an exact figure for your situation.
A slow drip of around 10 drips per minute wastes approximately 15 gallons per month and 180 gallons per year from a single faucet. A faster drip of 60 drips per minute can waste over 1,000 gallons per year. These numbers add up to a significant impact on your water bill.
The most common causes of a dripping faucet include a worn-out O-ring, a broken or hardened washer, a corroded valve seat, loose packing nuts, or improper installation. High water pressure can also force water past seals and cause intermittent dripping. Identifying the cause helps you choose the right repair.
Place a container under the faucet, set a timer for 60 seconds, and count each drip that falls. Alternatively, count drips for 15 seconds and multiply by 4. For a more precise estimate, you can also time how long it takes to fill a measuring cup and use that to back-calculate the flow rate.
For most faucets, turning off the water supply, disassembling the handle, and replacing the washer or O-ring resolves the drip. Cartridge faucets may need a new cartridge, while ball-type faucets require a repair kit. If you're unsure of the faucet type or the leak persists, consulting a licensed plumber is recommended.
Yes — even a slow drip can add several hundred gallons of wasted water per year, which shows up directly on your bill. In areas with higher water rates or during drought conditions, fixing leaks promptly can produce noticeable savings. The EPA estimates that household leaks overall can waste nearly 10,000 gallons per year.
There are approximately 15,140 drips in one US gallon (assuming a standard drip volume of about 0.25 ml). At 10 drips per minute, you'd reach a gallon in roughly 25 hours. At 60 drips per minute, it takes about 4 hours to waste a full gallon.
Fresh water is a finite resource, and household leaks contribute to unnecessary strain on municipal water systems, treatment facilities, and natural water sources. The USGS estimates that if every US home fixed easily corrected leaks, the country could save more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually — enough to supply 11 million homes for a year.