Start by finding the small isolation valve on the pipe directly underneath the leaking tap or toilet. Closing it stops the leak without cutting water to the whole house. Turn it with a flat head screwdriver. The water is on when the slot follows the pipe, and off after a quarter turn so the slot sits across it. If the leak carries on once it is off, turn the water off at the stop tap instead.
A running toilet is easy to miss. Listen for a constant trickle from the cistern when nobody has flushed, and look for ripples on the water in the pan. Put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern and leave it for a while. If colour shows up in the pan, it is leaking.
Most leaking toilets come down to a faulty flush valve or fill valve in the cistern, usually a failed valve seal. A dripping tap is normally a rubber washer that has cracked, gone brittle or clogged with limescale. On a single lever tap, a worn or clogged cartridge can cause the drip.
Catching it early saves water, because a leaking toilet can waste between two hundred and four hundred litres a day. Call a plumber if a tap is badly damaged or you are not sure what is causing the drip. I take on Small Plumbing Jobs across Lowestoft at GC Building and Landscaping, so send me a message and I can come and take a look.
