Are my toilets leaking?

October 28, 2005 8:53 AM

I bought a house recently and my first utilities bill was $230 (!). Most of the cost was water, and the folks at city hall wondered if it was a toilet leak, but I haven't heard or seen evidence of this. Any ideas? Anyone had to inspect a house for leaks?

I tried dye strips for 20 minutes last night, as instructed, and nothing happened. But three hours later, the toilets were full of dye. Should I try the test again? If a three hour leak is conclusive, is it just a matter of replacing the flapper/handle mechanism? Can I check the yard for leaks?

posted by hall of robots to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

FYI, especially in the northeast, water rates are often scaled--i.e., the more you use, the more you pay per 1,000 gallons. That means a small increase in usage (which puts you in the next "bracket") can mean a big increase in your bill. What is your average consumption per day per person? Anywhere from 70 to 250 (or more) can be normal, especially if you are watering your lawn. Check the back of your bill, they sometimes put this info there.

That said, sounds like your toilets are faulty, and this might be costing you 5-10 gallons a day.
posted by deadfather at 9:00 AM on October 28, 2005

Try this quick leak test to verify that you are leaking water somewhere.

Replace the flapper mechanism if you're even vaguely uncertain, it's about $4.

Replace washers in taps.

Replace high-flow shower heads with low-flow ones.

Buy a front-load washer instead of a top-load (uses amazingly low amounts of water, and doesn't tear your clothes up either)
posted by 5MeoCMP at 9:05 AM on October 28, 2005

Are you sure you weren't paying for the previous owner's water? Many communities do not send water bills monthly, but rather send them quarterly or semi-annually. This should have been taken care of prior to closing, but who knows. It's easier to check your water bill for the proper dates than track down a non-existent leak.
posted by caddis at 9:13 AM on October 28, 2005

Your water meter should have a small, sensitive dial that shows motion even for something as minor as a dripping faucet.

Shut off all taps &c, and check the meter. If you have a leak, it will show.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:20 AM on October 28, 2005

Do you have a sprinkler system? Could it be leaking underground?
posted by Asparagirl at 9:41 AM on October 28, 2005

If you have a leak at, say, your toilet flapper, the "shut off all your taps and watch the meter" won't show that kind of link. If that is your first guess, shut off the water supply to the toilet and wait. if the water level in the bowl or tank drops, then you have a leak (but it won't register at the meter until you turn the supply back on and let the toilet refill itself).
posted by misterbrandt at 9:55 AM on October 28, 2005

I'll repeat (I think) what 5MeoCMP said- check your toilet to make sure the flapper closes after you flush. I had a toilet where it didn't and the water would run continuously unless you jiggled the handle to get the flapper to close.
posted by gus at 9:55 AM on October 28, 2005

The toilet flapper is connected to the lever attached to the flush handle by means of a chain. You must make sure the chain is as short as possible, and then cut off the excess chain. No matter how clever you think you are being, sooner or later the chain will get loose, and end up wrapping around the working chain, and the toilet will run. (The SO did this experiment twice in the last couple of months, both times it failed.) It would be intermittent, so you might not see it on the meter.
Then if you still aren't sure, get a small stack of washers for weight and put them on the chain, so it lays just above the flapper, and that will stop the flapper from leaking. You have to tinker with the amount of weight, so that the flapper doesn't close too quickly after it's been flushed.

The most likely scenario (after an estimated bill based on the last tenants) is that the toilet is running. Whether you know for sure or not, just fix it. If it's just sort of leaking a tiny amount, the only symptom might be that you have a big calcium deposit at the waterline inside the commode.
posted by deep_cover at 10:16 AM on October 28, 2005

I think we have a quorum on the toilet flapper, but that's based on the fact you had dye in the commode.
posted by deep_cover at 10:20 AM on October 28, 2005