Water Bills Too High?
Nobody likes wasting money. And if your water bill is unusually high, that just may be exactly what’s happening. Water literally going down the drain. In most instances, this means that there is a leak somewhere.
To determine if there really is a leak, you need start by looking at your water meter. Your water meter is what determines your water bill and is read on a regular basis by your water purveyor. In most cases, you will find your water meter located at or near the curb in front of your house.
In most cases, the dial on your water meter will look similar to the two pictures below. Notice that the one on the left has a red triangle next to the needle while the one on the right has a red star. They both do exactly the same thing. They measure water movement. The needle measures the amount of water used. But the triangle and star are far more sensitive and will pick up any water movement.
This means that if the water is not in use anywhere on your property and the triangle or star is rotating clockwise, there is a leak somewhere. This is exactly what a professional plumber will do to verify a leak and narrow down its location.
So we’ve determined that there is a leak. To find out where it is, the next step is to turn off the home’s main water shut off valve at the house.
If after turning the main shut off valve to the house the water meter continues moving, then we know the leak is somewhere between the water meter and the main shut off valve. In most cases this means that your water service – the underground pipe bringing water to the house, is leaking and in most cases, will need to be replaced.
If the water meter stops moving after turning off the main shut off valve at the house, then we know there is a leak in the house somewhere. And in most cases, you will find one or more of your toilets running. To verify this, simply turn off the water going to the toilet.
If the water meter stops turning now, we know that your toilet is running. This often can be remedied with a new toilet flapper.