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Why was my utility bill high?
If you've received a bill that seems unusually high, there could be a number of reasons. Consider the following to help determine why:
1. Your bill includes a graph of your water consumption for the past 12 months. Does the consumption seem normal compared to the previous billing period or the same billing period last year?
2. Has the amount of water you've been using changed? Have you had house guests for an extended period of time? On average, a person uses 40-80 gallons of water per day. See How Much Water Do I Use Daily for more details.
3. During the summer months, watering your lawn more frequently is the most common reason a bill can be high. Running your sprinkler for just one hour can use 400 gallons of water. If you use a hose to water, did you forget to go back out and turn it off?
4. There could be a leaking faucet or a running toilet in your home. Check for a possible leak by turning off everything in the house and then going out and looking at the water meter. It should not be moving at all. If it is moving, you have a leak somewhere in your house. (See It's Only a Small Drip...Right? for more information on checking for common water leaks. See How Much Water is Lost? to find out how small leaks can lead to big trouble.)
5. Did you fill a swimming pool with a garden hose? Or maybe use a pressure washer to clean the deck and driveway? At four gallons per minute, pressure washing for four hours can use 960 gallons of water.
1. Your bill includes a graph of your water consumption for the past 12 months. Does the consumption seem normal compared to the previous billing period or the same billing period last year?
2. Has the amount of water you've been using changed? Have you had house guests for an extended period of time? On average, a person uses 40-80 gallons of water per day. See How Much Water Do I Use Daily for more details.
3. During the summer months, watering your lawn more frequently is the most common reason a bill can be high. Running your sprinkler for just one hour can use 400 gallons of water. If you use a hose to water, did you forget to go back out and turn it off?
4. There could be a leaking faucet or a running toilet in your home. Check for a possible leak by turning off everything in the house and then going out and looking at the water meter. It should not be moving at all. If it is moving, you have a leak somewhere in your house. (See It's Only a Small Drip...Right? for more information on checking for common water leaks. See How Much Water is Lost? to find out how small leaks can lead to big trouble.)
5. Did you fill a swimming pool with a garden hose? Or maybe use a pressure washer to clean the deck and driveway? At four gallons per minute, pressure washing for four hours can use 960 gallons of water.
Slow drips of water can add up quickly. A toilet that “keeps running” after you flush or a sink that drips after it is turned off can waste thousands of gallons of water a year. A small leak in your automatic irrigation system can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month! If the drip is hot water, you are paying for wasted energy too. Fix leaks as soon as you find them. They won’t go away on their own.
One of the most costly household wastes of water is a leaky toilet. According to the American Water Works Association, toilets account for 45% of all indoor water use in a typical residence. It is estimated that 20% of all toilets leak!
Toilet leaks can range from small to large, constant to random, or from being heard or silent. They all cause wasted water. Depending on the water pressure to your house, a running toilet can leak over 1 gallon of water per hour which adds up to 26 gallons per day. If left undiscovered, a running toilet can waste over 9000 gallons of water a year.
Fortunately, most toilet leaks are relatively easy to fix. In a properly functioning toilet, no water should move from the tank to the bowl, unless the toilet is being flushed. A leaking toilet loses water from the tank to the bowl without being flushed (#1 below). A toilet can also waste water due to an improperly adjusted or broken fill (ballcock) valve causing water to enter the tank and flow into the overflow tube (#2 below).
1. Most toilet leaks are caused by a faulty valve (also known as “flush valve ball” or “tank stopper”). A flapper valve should be replaced every 3 to 5 years. Most hardware, plumbing and home improvement stores supply flappers. How to check for a leaky toilet flush valve (flapper):
A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can use more than 3,000 gallons per year! A showerhead leaking at 10 drips per minute can use more than 500 gallons of water per year. Use the WaterWiser Drip Calculator to measure and estimate water wasted.
Running Toilet Leak
One of the most costly household wastes of water is a leaky toilet. According to the American Water Works Association, toilets account for 45% of all indoor water use in a typical residence. It is estimated that 20% of all toilets leak!
Toilet leaks can range from small to large, constant to random, or from being heard or silent. They all cause wasted water. Depending on the water pressure to your house, a running toilet can leak over 1 gallon of water per hour which adds up to 26 gallons per day. If left undiscovered, a running toilet can waste over 9000 gallons of water a year.
Fortunately, most toilet leaks are relatively easy to fix. In a properly functioning toilet, no water should move from the tank to the bowl, unless the toilet is being flushed. A leaking toilet loses water from the tank to the bowl without being flushed (#1 below). A toilet can also waste water due to an improperly adjusted or broken fill (ballcock) valve causing water to enter the tank and flow into the overflow tube (#2 below).
1. Most toilet leaks are caused by a faulty valve (also known as “flush valve ball” or “tank stopper”). A flapper valve should be replaced every 3 to 5 years. Most hardware, plumbing and home improvement stores supply flappers. How to check for a leaky toilet flush valve (flapper):
- Carefully remove and set aside the tank lid. (Don’t worry, this water is clean until it enters the bowl.)
- Add some food coloring or a dye tablet to turn the water a different color.
- Put the tank lid back on.
- Wait 15 minutes and do not flush.
- If dye appears in the toilet bowl, the flapper valve in your toilet is leaking and should be replaced.
Leaking Faucet
A leaking faucet is frequently the result of a bad rubber washer. The washer on a sink is typically located under the handle. A washer is relatively easy to replace with the right tools. It does require shutting off the water under the sink, and removing the handle. Check local home centers or the Internet (keywords “repairing leaky faucets”) for help on how to repair faucet leaks.A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can use more than 3,000 gallons per year! A showerhead leaking at 10 drips per minute can use more than 500 gallons of water per year. Use the WaterWiser Drip Calculator to measure and estimate water wasted.