Noticed an extra high water bill recently? Unless you’re taking extra long showers every day, that could be a sign you have some issues with your plumbing system. Here are some reasons your water bill might be high, and what you can do to fix them.

1. Leaky Faucets or Fixtures

Leaky faucets and fixtures can fly under the radar — after all, a few drops a day doesn’t seem too significant.

However, those tiny droplets add up: one leaky faucet can, on average, waste up to 3,000 gallons of water per year. For reference, that’s almost 200 average-length showers!

Fortunately, these are easy to find and fix. The most common reason for leaky faucets is a defective rubber washer in the handle of the faucet. You can fix this by first turning off the water to this faucet. From there, you can unscrew the handle and replace the old washer with a new one that works.

2. Leaky or Running Toilets

Toilets already consist of nearly a third of Americans’ indoor water usage.

If leaky faucets can waste so much water, just think about how much you can lose to a leaky or running toilet. It's much more at around 6,000 gallons a month if left untreated. That’s a lot of extra money you have to pay.

You can use one of two methods to detect a leaky or running toilet:

1. Listening: Make sure it’s quiet in your home, then walk near your toilet. Any hissing noises may indicate a leak. 
2. The dye test: Get a dye tablet or food coloring. Put the dye/a couple drops of food coloring into the toilet tank, then wait about 20 minutes. After, check the toilet bowl. If the bowl water has coloring in it, you’ve got a leak somewhere causing tank water to move to the bowl.

There are many possible causes of a leaky or running toilet. It could be the faulty tank flappers, but you should also check the water line and seals as well. That said, faulty flappers are the most common reason for running/leaky toilets.

3. Old Fixtures or Toilets

Do you have an older home? The plumbing system might work fine still, but that doesn’t mean that they’re just as efficient as the newest modern appliances. In fact, they could become less efficient over time.

If your water bill is climbing, replacing some of your appliances and fixtures might be worth the water savings over time. Check your appliances for WaterSense labeling and for their dates of manufacture. Consider replacing old washers and dishwashers with new, energy-efficient models.

Can’t find the reason why your water bill is so high? Or maybe you know why, but you aren’t sure how to fix it? Not to worry — Barner Murphy is here to help. We’ll find out what’s wasting your water and work quickly to fix it with minimal disruption to your life. Contact us today!