Mysterious High Water Usage

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kmace

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Jan 25, 2023
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Location
Texas
We have a high water bill, ~30k gallons of usage a month for 3 people, and have done all of the following tests for leaks

  • dye in the toilet tank and checked after 10 minutes -> no visible dye in the bowl
  • turn off all appliances and did not use water overnight ~8 hours and checked the meter -> the meter did not change and the flow indicator was not moving
  • check the accuracy of the meter by measuring 10 gallons and the sink and checking the meter reading -> the meter moved by about 10.2 gallons, so pretty close to accurate
  • called the water company and they confirmed that there was no leak on their side
  • turned off the water for ~40 minutes and did not see any change on the pressure gauge
The home does not have an irrigation system or water softener.
Is there anything else we can check? I am really at a loss for what could be happening and would like to try and figure this out before having to spend $600+ with a leak detection company and potentially not come up with any solution
 
For more info, when the house was vacant the water usage was really low, <100 gallons a month, which was likely just from me going in intermittently to do repairs
 
Are you on a slab? Call american leak detection. Don't wait. You can cause more damage if there is a leak under a slab or foundation.
 
Last edited:
You have a toilet hanging up and running all day then either taking care of itself or someone takes care of it and doesn’t tell you.

Or

Someone is leaving an outside faucet on for hours.

Or

You don’t have a leak and the water company is mistaken about the usage.


Take your pick.

30,000 gallons is s about 6 times what a normal house would use in a month.

In other words, that’s a **** ton of water.
 
Take the lid off your toilet(s) and make sure that the water level is below the top of the fill tube, and that the end of the little hose from the fill valve and the fill tube is only inserted about 1/2 inch into the fill tube.

I had a similar problem last summer with a leaky fill valve, but in my case the little needle on the water meter was slowly turning. Didn't realize I had a problem until I noticed a couple of workers looking at my meter cover. The next water bill confirmed the leak to the tune of about $100..
 
Someone taking baths instead of shower?

Do you have low flow aerators on sink and showers?

Hose bibs being used excessively?

Leak somewhere under the house?
 

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