How the Amount of Water You Use Effects Your Water Bill

Opening your monthly water bill is about as enjoyable as discovering your car battery is dead on a frigid winter morning. Finding out your water bill is $20 or $30 more than the previous month’s water bill could mean you have hot water heater problems, a hidden water leak or a leaking faucet you don’t realize is costing you so much money. Compounding the fact that plumbing companies are called by frantic homeowners for a water leak repair that could have been prevented with regular maintenance is the astounding another fact that a household of four uses and pays for over 400 gallons of water a year.

That same household could reduce its water usage by half. Really!

What You May Not Know About Water Usage and Leaks

• Defective toilets that keep running after refilling can waste 200+ gallons of water each day it remains broken
• Standard showerheads use nearly three gallons of water every minute
• When you brush your teeth and let your bathroom faucet run for one minute, you could be wasting two gallons of water
• An estimated 10 percent of all homes suffer unknown water leaks due to plumbing fixture defects
• Water heater leaks are one of the most common leaks repaired by plumbing companies and a primary reason for hefty water bills

You can actually find out how much a leaking faucet is costing you in water usage by using a drip calculator found on the U.S. Department of the Interior website.

Understanding Water Bills

Measuring water use differs among state utility companies. Commonly used units of usage include the gallon and the CCF, or centum cubic feet, which is exactly 100 cubic feet of water. Always look at your previous month’s water usage and compare it to your current month’s water usage. Just a slight increase in your bill could indicate the beginning of a water leak somewhere in your plumbing system. And water leaks never stop growing. In fact, a pinhole leak caused by corrosion may weaken material surrounding the pinhole and create a dangerously compromised area in the pipe. This could result in increasingly high water bills that you could prevent by repairing the leak or being the only one on your block to have Old Faithful erupting in the middle of your kitchen.

How to Save Money on Your Water Bill

• Don’t rinse dishes before putting them into your dishwasher. Scrape dishes to save 10+ gallons of water every meal
• Install water heater equipment that is energy efficient and capable of maintaining warm water temperature.
• Filling a tub to take a bath uses less water (as much as 20 gallons) than showering
• Adding faucet aerators can save nearly 30 gallons of water per day
• Replace water heater equipment that is seven to 10 years old.
• Install heat traps and insulate hot water tanks

Sediment tends to accumulate in hot water heaters, especially in colder months when hot water is used frequently. To avoid forcing your water heater to work harder and stressing internal parts, plumbing companies can clean your water heater by draining the sediment and performing a maintenance check for a water leak or compromised components.

Start saving hundreds of dollars annually on your water bill by contacting MET Plumbing today. We offer gas water heater repair/maintenance, all kinds of water leak repair services, and troubleshooting hot water heater problems. Call for a quote (or consultation): 281-599-3336.