duplicate post

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chops,

Chops, if I were you I'd post this down in General Remodeling as well. It almost sounds like you have a leak somewhere -- but I wouldn't even know where to recommend looking.

Just looked at our water bills (SF Bay Area). I guess the amount is conceivably possible. Ours runs about $50/2 months. Last summer (June thru Sept) it jumped to about $90/2 months. Only change was watering.

Still though, I think I'd be tempted to rule out any leaks, running toilets, leaky faucets, etc.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm in Morgan Hill. I did schedule a water analysis for next week. It is supposed to tell me where I'm using the most water. My water bill has never been this high before, even in my last house, and it was quite a shocker.

Also check with your neighbors to find out their average water bill? Could possibly be you have a faulty meter, it has been known to happen. And they usually won't refund any back bills, so get that checked out soon?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: conrad,

We had a similar occurrence and it was a leak at the meter. We "found" ours backwards. DH and I rent and we noticed a puddle on the sidewalk, near the meter. Called the property management company and received assurances that someone would look into this. Puddle persisted. Called again. Still no response so we called the water company and I explained that we were renters, but the puddle wasn't going away. The water company came out, found the leak and repaired it.

We weren't noticing a difference in the water bill because our landlord pays the water. Finally, after talking to the water company, I called the landlord. Seems the bill had been more than triple for the past 12 months. He'd asked the property manager to call me and ask, obviously to no avail. I relayed the message from the water company that he needed to request an audit of the account for the past 12 months and any difference would be credited to the account because the meter reader should have noticed and reported the problem.

Check for a leak, but don't assume that the water company is checking their portion.

If you use a lot of water sprinkling outside you can have a meter installed that would only charge for the water not the sewer. Where I live the sewer charge is more than twice the water charge and averages about $60 a month for us two adults. The water company recently put new meters in everyones house & my bill has gone down after me complaining to them for years about how high our bill was.

Might also have the water company check their records - my mom's company went from around $250 a month to almost $4000. Some weird glitch in their system charged her for all the businesses on their street.

Of the increases in water usage the irrigation of your yard is probably the biggest culprit. You want to measure how much water you're putting out on the yard to ensure that you aren't doing more than is needed. The added adults would increase your water usage because of additional showers, laundry and toilet use. Figure around 30-50 gallons per adult per day. My family is pretty water efficient using about 26 gallons per day per person. We have a front loading clothes washer that reduced our water usage by 1000 gallons per month from the old top loader.

Check your toilets for leaks by placing a drop or two of food coloring in the tank. If after a half hour the color has migrated to the bowl you have a leaky flap valve. Check the water level to make sure the water is stopping below the overflow tube in the tank.

If your meter is at the curb and you can open the lid to look at it you can check for leaks in your system by making sure everything is off inside the house and then monitor the flow needle to make sure it doesn't move. If it is moving you have a phantom leak somewhere in your house or in the line from the meter to your house. If you have a leak in the line you should have a wet spot in your yard between the meter and the house. If the line goes under your driveway that leak could be hard to find.

I've had this happen as has my brother, we left our outside faucets on with a hose attached, the hose connection leaked and caused a significant increase in water usage.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sparky,

THANK YOU to Sparky for the water info.

I've never really calculated the water usage for DH and I. You're inspiring me to do that.

More than that though, thank you SO MUCH for the water saving info for the FL machine. I keep hearing how much more efficient they are with water but the AMOUNT never gets stated. At least now, i can calculate approx. what my water savings would be both financially AND environmentally and see if it would be a good idea sooner rather than later.

Thank you again for a load of useful info!

TMS, are you on tiered water rate? Does your water bill measure billing units HCF? HCF stands for hundred cubic feet. 1 hcf equals 748 gallons. The OP and I are on tiered rates. Her water tiered rate is not the same as mine but, it all comes out it the wash

Chops, when they perform the water analysis next week have them show you how to read the meter. Also, call your water provider to have them explain the tier system to you. I could post a link but, your provider doesn't want the site redirected to a message board. Where Chops lives they have one rate for the city and another rate for the county. It's so much fun figuring everything out, sarcasm intended).

It would make more sense for Chops to calculate the actual units used the previous months and for the last bill. Then compare the actual number of units, (HCFs) used to determine the amount of water used. l unit equals 748 gallons. Basically, how many gallons did you use each month comparing the last bill compared to the previous bill. That will tell you the actual amount used.

Using the sprinklers can certainly increase your water consumption.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: still tryin,

.....digging madly thru the paid bills folder to find a water bill.

I SHOULD know this stuff and I don't. Bad consumer. BAD BAD consumer.

I'll be back.

This is not good. Not good at all.

It appears we're using an average of 60-70 gal per day per adult. That is during the NON sprinkler months.

Yes ST, we're on a tiered system. We stay in the Tier 1 pricing since it's just 2 adults here. Still though, based on Sparky's info, it just feels like we should be using FAR LESS water. At this point financially, it might save $5 or $8/2 months so it isn't a financial issue.

I will say that I work at home and DH does a few days a week also so there usually aren't many days when there isn't SOMEONE here using water. I'd be happy though if I could get it down to 50 gal per day.

I know TMS, sigh, I know. I just look at it as, there are plenty of ways I have to spend money and there are better ways, or things, I would like to be spending it on. My reasons may be enviornmental and consumer related but, the dollar value is was most ppl can comprehend easily.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: still tryin,

I am assuming this is water & sewage. If you had a lot of visitors for a while, that's a lot of toilet flushing. If you have water saving toilets that's good but the older toilets, like one of ours(soon to be replaced) uses 3 gallons of water everytime you flush! Glad you're checking out your meter though. Also baths use much more water than showers.

We purchased a new home and every month our bill was sky high, compared to all the our past homes. I just "knew" there was a problem and sure enough after a few months we finally got to the culprit, a water leak. A strong, steady water leak. The wet ground didn't show because I live in Oregon and it was rainy season. Turns out that when the sidewalk was formed a stake went right through the water pipe. It sure sounds like you may have a leak. Also, I often have guests in my home with lots more showers and toilets going and my bill goes up, but only by $20 or so. Good luck and I hope you soon figure out the source of the high water bill.

Consider that a front load washing machine uses 1/3 (ONE-THIRD) less water per load than a top loader. These machines, coming down a bit in price, pay for themselves in water, heating water, drying, and detergent in two-three years for most people.

Over the years I've always been amazed at the water consumption when we've had company for awhile.
You have to think about not only flushing toilets, but showers and baths, extra laundry and dishes and more cooking possibly using water Like big pots of pasta(feeds more cheaper).
Add the yard onto it and it can add up.

While guests were there is it possible someone might have let a faucet drip, not on purpose but did it nonetheless. I found that a few times when having guests.
I don't know if they weren't paying attention or were used to their own faucet at home turned off at a certain spot and they were stopping mine at that point but needed an extra nudge.
Several times I'd find the showerhead dripping too.

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

I live in AZ, so water is precious, after all we do live in a desert. I use to have guest that would take extra long showers and be very relaxed about it. I just simply put a note about water conservation in the guest bathroom and that helped. Also, instead of them running a whole load for items, they have started throwing in their clothes with ours when people stay. If they can sleep in the sheets we provide, I guess our laundry is not too bad now.

Also, we had a leak and it was in our watering system. Apparently a syllanoid (probably not spelled right) was busted in one of our valves to our sprinklers. This was during the season when we were not watering either. Apparently it is easier to break when not being used than being used. We also found a sprinkler head broke as well check those out.

We also have started to try to save water by placing a bucket in our shower when we have it warm up in the morning and use the water later to flush the toilet. However, if you have a youngster be careful with this and keep the water out of reach.

Okay this last suggestion sounds really gross, but I am one of those people who go to the bathroom all night long. I would probably be flushing several times a night. Even though it is gross, we have made a conscious decision to not flush during the night unless we have to. I have toilets that save water and a front load washer, but have struggled to find ways to save more water. Believe it or not, this lowered our bill.

My neighbors have decided to use more hand sanitizer for their kids than all the washings, but I can't get to that point. That is gross to me.

Also, check you water and ice if you have it in your fridge, sometimes there can be a leak there. Good luck on your search and conserve as much as you can. Rae