My water bill is much higher this winter than in the summer when the garden was watered every day and I am not using any more water than usual. I checked the basement meter and it does not move when no water is running so there is no leak. There is an electronic meter outside that the city scans. What is up?

Contact the water company for a monthly use printout. My bill has a whole running year on it showing monthly use.

Hi Gachawk

Sounds like you may have a small leaker at one of your toilets... ;) If your water meter has a small red arrow/pointer on it I would suggest marking a line on the meter where the pointer points to start and checking back an hour later... if the pointer moves beyond your mark you definitley have a leaker!

Another way to find the most common small leak in homes is to take some dark food coloring and drip about 20 drops into your toilet TANK(s) only. Wait an hour or so and then check the toilet BOWL(s) and see if the color has showed up in the bowl. If color shows up in the toilet bowl(s) then you have a leaky flapper and that will need to be replaced (at a minimum)... flush valve may need to be replaced if replacing flapper fails to fix the issue..

Try the dye test and report back on results, OK?

Mark

I do not see a leak that would make the bill jump by a 3rd over a months time but I will try your suggestion. It is actually my ex's house. I filled 4 quart jars at her place then at mine and it appears her meter is reading more than mine.

[QUOTE=gachawk;3397520]I do not see a leak that would make the bill jump by a 3rd over a months time but I will try your suggestion. It is actually my ex's house. I filled 4 quart jars at her place then at mine and it appears her meter is reading more than mine. Her usage was up 2000 from last month.

Try as mark suggested if every thing is OK then call the water company, good luck.

John