When the mail comes in, you’ll see your bills waving at you. Well, it’s not a surprise. Paying your bills is a painstaking ordeal but this comes in pair with running a household. It’s a part of being a responsible citizen and water consumer.

However, when you check your water bill and see that the figures have skyrocketed, you’ll wonder how you would have consumed that much water?

Where Did All the Water Go?

It’s a normal reaction to panic or get hysterical when your water bill is way higher than your previous bill. I mean, you’d know right away if you are charged unusually high on your water consumption if you keep a record of your bills.

Tracking your average or normal monthly water consumption will help you assess and check on inconsistencies with your water bill.

Is your water bill accurate or staying within your expected range?

Could there be any problems or unknown leaks in the plumbing system or pipes?

Is there a sudden or out-of-the-normal use of water in your home?

You would normally be able to cross-check and compare your current water bill with the previous month and see the wide gap when you, in fact, had no change in water consumption or had no visitors around.

The cause for this sudden and ridiculously high bill is often mysterious. There are a myriad of factors to consider. It could have been a family member who showered more than usual, having guests around for a couple of days or so; or perhaps a leaky toilet.

The mysterious spike in your alleged water consumption is also called “silent leaks” which signal a water leak without even seeing actual pooling of water in your home. Unfortunately, these silent leaks are only discovered once you receive a high water bill.

The issue would mostly be traced from a leak in the main water line. This water leak problem reveals some serious pipe or plumbing problem that needs to be fixed right away.

Points to Consider

We decided to ask https://www.buzplumbingbrisbane.com.au/ and their advice was to consider a number of factors before you decide to ring your plumber for a sudden spike in your water bill:

• Started new flowerbeds or vegetable gardens.
• Filled up the family swimming pool
• Increased frequency of watering your garden because of the extremely hot or dry season.
• Had visitors around.
• Get to stay home for extended hours because of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, homeschooling, or had a work-from-home setup
• More cleaning is done at home with the use of high-pressure water.
• More laundry.

It’s important to note that even short and quick bursts of extended water usage can impact your water charges for that particular billing period.

Review your water consumption in the current billing cycle. You can ask family members if they had any frequent or prolonged use of water in the previous month.

This will help patch loose ends.

The current report from the RACQ (2016) reveals that most of our water consumption is done in the bathroom (30% to 37%) and outdoors (35% to 55%).

Laundry use amounts to 10% to 13% while kitchens spend water on an average of 9% to 13%; while leakage has a total of 1% to 10%.  

What Should Be My Average Water Bill?

Your average water charges would depend on many factors like the number of people in your household. It would also depend on the size of your home or gardens (if any) and also the weather.

Well, the biggest determining factor here is the number of people or family members that you have at home and also their water usage.

To examine your water bill, you’ll find the per kilolitre charges which points out to the actual water consumption. This also includes the state bulk water charges plus retailer charges.

More so, a water service charge is also added which is allocated for the maintenance of the water infrastructure or equipment and services that are involved in the process of refining water to remove the wastewater.

What are the Signals of Leaking Water?

Some signs of leaking water may be on stealth mode until you get a shocker on your water bill. 

However, there are obvious tell-tale signs that hint a water leak such as the sound of running water or wet or damp floor near the bathroom or kitchen areas.

You may be oblivious to these water leaks because most home plumbing systems are concealed. Hence, water leaks can go on for weeks or even months, without anyone noticing it.

Detect not-so-obvious water leaks by doing the following:

• Take note of the number that appears on your water meter.
• Turn off all water taps.
• Take a pause from using water or you can go out of the house for a couple of hours.
• Try re-reading your water meter to compare changes.

If you did not use the washing machine or dishwasher, not turned on any water taps, flushed your toilet; or other similar tasks, and still, the numbers on your water meter changed, then your gut feel was right.

Other signs of water leaks to watch out for:

• Foul damp odour in your home.
• Mildew or mould growth in hidden crevices like in the ceiling or walls.
• Damp spots in your carpet.
• Expansion of cabinets.
• Irregular growth in the garden.
• Puddles in your garden or lawn (no rain)

Water leaks can be a nagging problem that can affect not just your finances but also your family’s health.