Why is my water bill so high?

Have you ever received the unfortunate surprise of an unexpectedly high water bill? In this episode, we respond to a listener's question about what to do when your water usage is much higher than usual. We'll discuss the various reasons behind a sudden spike in your water bill and guide you through the process of checking the water meter, identifying potential leaks, and exploring other factors contributing to increased bills. From meticulous inspections to practical advice, we'll share insights on keeping your water usage in check.

We love listener questions! Email us at thetradepros@doneritesvcs.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-833-805-0167 and we may feature your home question in a future episode.  

Need to call in a trade pro? At Done Rite Services, we can help you with your HVAC, plumbing, and electrical needs in Tucson, Arizona. Find out more at www.doneritesvcs.com.

This episode was produced by Rachel Simpson Media. Learn more at www.rachelsimpson.media.

Transcript

Todd: [00:00:00] Welcome to Ask the Trade Pros, a show where a couple of trade guys talk about trade stuff. 

Jordan: Hi. 

Todd: We're here to answer your questions about your HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and other home systems. We are here to help you keep your home running smoothly. 

Jordan: I'm Jordan. 

Todd: And I'm Todd. We have a question from a loyal listener about their water bill. They write, if my water bill comes back high, what are some of the common things that might tell me what the problems are? I don't know, Jordan. That's a good question. What do you think about that? 

Jordan: Well, today let's go through some of the most common causes. Obviously there could be random weird causes, but let's look at some of the most common ones today.

Behind a sudden spike in your water bill.

Todd: What I would do is first check the water meter. Your water meter can tell you a lot. So what you're going [00:01:00] to want to do is make sure no water is being used inside or outside your home, including your irrigation. So make sure all the water's off, go to your water meter. Open it up and look at the meter readings.

So some of the older meters had the little dial that spins. Now, some of them are digital. So make note of whatever the reading is and wait 30 minutes or an hour, depending on the severity of the leak, it could be moving rapidly and you could notice it right away, or it could be a small leak. Note that reading and come back and check it.

And that could tell you a lot. 

Jordan: Where would they find that meter, Todd? 

Todd: Most of the time, you can find the water meter in the front of the house. However, on occasion, depending on the neighborhood, especially here in Tucson, sometimes they're in an alley if you have an alleyway.

Jordan: I've seen them in the back of the house also on hills on houses that run up the hill because that's the closest connection to the city supply.

Todd: Yes, I've seen those as well. You're always going to want to know, as any homeowner, [00:02:00] where your water meter is because if you come up on a situation, you may need to shut that water off. So if you notice that your meter is spinning, obviously you have a leak somewhere. So to go a little further into that, what you can then do is isolate the house from the meter because you could have a leak inside the house or you could have a leak from the meter to the house.

So if you also have a shutoff valve at your house, we call it a water riser. What I would do is obviously you determined you have a leak. So shut off the water going into the house and then do the same process. Again, monitor that meter. If you notice that it's still spinning, then that means that your problem is between the meter and your house.

If it is not spinning, then, then, you know, the problems inside your house and you can start looking further into it. 

Jordan: Okay. So you find the problems inside your house. First, let's talk about leaky toilets. Oftentimes, if the flapper or the float goes bad in the toilet, you will get a [00:03:00] constantly running water in the toilet, which surprisingly causes a high water bill.

You will barely be able to see it, or you might not even notice it. There is a way to test this. You can put one of those blue discs or one of those dyes into your toilet bowl, and if it stays running, you'll see the blue water coming out of the toilet constantly. 

Todd: We had a customer last year, sometime, that called in with this exact question.

They had a high water bill and we went out there, did all the tests as we spoke about, and it turned out that two of their toilets had a small drip on their flapper. So they were constantly running, not even enough to hear the sound, but it was enough to make their water bill go up by 375 a month. So even something as small as that can produce a lot of water.

Jordan: I would also go through and do a visual inspection of all your faucets. Are they dripping? Can they shut off completely? You want to look underneath the cabinets at the supply line, see if there's calcium or a staining buildup. The water may not be there at the time you're looking, but that would show you that water has been [00:04:00] coming out of that seam.

Now if there are hidden leaks, it's much harder for you as a customer to find. They're often in slabs, the walls, the roof. Now, obviously if they get so bad that you have flooding or terrible leakage outside of the walls or the ceiling, then you'll notice because you have severe damage in those instances, it's usually best after you've isolated these other issues to give a professional call who might have the specialized equipment needed to find these leaks.

Todd: So another common thing with water leaking is a change in habits. Is it the summertime and you own a swimming pool and you notice your water bill is going up? Well, the sun's going to evaporate that water. So expect your bill to go up in the summer. Could be a pool. Could be irrigation habits in the summertime.

You're going to be watering your plants more often. In the winter you don't necessarily need to water as often. So you're going to want to change your irrigation. Is it a digital timer? Is it manual? You're going to want to monitor that stuff and make the according changes. 

Jordan: You want to keep track of [00:05:00] that too out here in Tucson, where we are, it's a desert. So some seasons will be rainy and some seasons will not be rainy. So I have had a lot of customers that complain about a high water bill. From one season to the next, but the previous season, maybe we got a lot of rain in this season. We have a record dry spell. 

Todd: That's a very good point as well. 

Jordan: If you can't find a source of leaky water or water loss in your house using the steps we told you about, and you don't notice any seasonal or occupation changes, then the next problem might be an issue with the actual meter on your waterline or with the utility company's billing itself.

You may want to check these month to month, see how they line up to previous months or previous years, or ask the utility for an inspection of the meter.

Todd: If you suspect a water leak or experience an unexplained increase in your water bill, it's advisable to contact a licensed plumber. They can help identify the source of the leak and perform necessary repairs to mitigate further water loss. Regularly checking for leaks, promptly addressing plumbing issues, and practicing water conservation [00:06:00] habits can help prevent water wastage, minimize water bills, and preserve the precious resource. 

Jordan: Thanks again for tuning in to Ask the Trade Pros. Remember to subscribe so that you don't miss one of our exciting episodes.

Todd: We love answering listener questions. So if you have a question you'd like us to answer, send us a voicemail or email us and we may feature it on a future episode. That information is in the show notes. 

Jordan: Once again, thank you to Done Rite Services for sponsoring this podcast.