One of the most common complaints I receive from homeowners is that they just received their quarterly water bill and it was off the charts in comparison to the previous statement.

So I’ll ask the usual questions such as do you have any faucets or toilets that are visibly leaking? The usual response is no! Everything is fine I don’t have any leaks, why is my bill so high. Well faucets are pretty easy to pinpoint, their ether leaking or not, but toilets are another story. Although you may not visibly see or hear any water running, they could very well be the cause of your high water bill.

One cool test I often recommend is to take a little food coloring (I’ll leave the color up to you) and place a few drops inside the toilet tank and wait. Have a cup of coffee, come back and look inside the bowl. If the water has turned into your color of choice, your flapper is passing water and the fill valve is re-filling the tank when the water drops to a certain level. If you have an older style fill valve with a large float ball connected, you’ll never hear anything because it will automatically fill as the water level drops. Very quietly costing you money. If your toilet is equipped with a modern style fill valve where the float and valve are one unit, the tank will drop to a certain level after which the fill valve will turn on to replace the lost water. You’ll often hear an intermittent running of water after which it will stop. Again costing you money.
Leaking flappers are one most common causes of high water bills.They become warped and damaged over time and more so if your placing that pretty blue toilet bowl cleanser inside the toilet tank. That stuff dries out the rubber components inside the toilet tank leading to premature failure. The flapper, trip lever or chain may lose it’s alignment, leaving a gap that can cause a leak. The flush valve can develop small cuts or pitting that causes a leak between it and the flapper. The fill valve can become stuck in the open position causing water waste as it flows down the overflow tube. This can occur when their are fluctuations in water pressure.

How can you test for these water leaks?

Listen: The only time you should hear water running in when you intentionally flush it, the tank should fill to the proper level and shut. If you still hear water after it fills, check your flapper. Also make sure your handle is tight and the chain has a little slack in it to allow the flapper to completely shut.

Look: A large leak will cause moving water in the bowl long after the tank has refilled. Rust stains inside the bowl are often an indication of corroding metal parts inside the tank caused by a leak.

Try performing that little food coloring test at least once annually to be sure you have a tight seal between the flapper and flush valve. If you find a leak or you see that your water bill has increased noticeably, check your flapper, flush valve and or fill valve. If you’re not comfortable doing it yourself, call in a reputable licensed master plumber. High water bills are often caused by leaking toilets that waste large amounts of water. If you’re unsure about your toilet or have additional questions you can always reach me at info@bobsplumbings.com or please visit the Got A Plumbing Problem? Ask Bob page on this website and drop my your question.

Until next time.
HAPPY PLUMBING!