Leaks that you can see are the easy ones. The ones that cost money are hidden: a toilet that seeps quietly, a pipe weeping inside a wall, or a supply line leaking under the lawn. The water meter can confirm a hidden leak in ten minutes, without tools.
Find the meter
On town water in Bergen County, the meter is usually in the basement where the supply pipe enters, or in a pit near the curb. It has either a spinning dial or a digital display. Many modern meters have a small triangle, star or gear on the face that turns whenever any water is flowing, however little. That is the leak indicator.
On a well, there is no meter, and the test is different: see the last section.
The test
- Make sure no water is being used. Turn off the ice maker, the humidifier, and any sprinkler system, and tell the household.
- Read the meter, or take a photo of it.
- Wait ten minutes without using water. For a small leak, wait an hour.
- Read it again.
If the reading has changed, or the leak indicator is turning, water is going somewhere.
Narrowing it down
Close the main shut-off valve and repeat the test.
- The meter stops: the leak is inside the house, past the valve.
- The meter keeps moving: the leak is between the meter and the valve, which usually means the underground supply line, or the valve itself is passing.
For a leak inside the house, the usual suspects in order:
Toilets. By far the most common. Put food coloring in each tank, wait fifteen minutes without flushing, and look for color in the bowl. A leaking flapper can waste hundreds of gallons a day silently. The fix costs a few dollars.
Faucets and showers. A drip you have stopped noticing.
The water heater. Look at the floor around it and at the relief valve's pipe.
Outdoor faucets and the irrigation system. Check every outdoor faucet, and look for a zone that is greener or soggier than the rest.
Appliances. The washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator ice maker, and the humidifier on the furnace.
Inside walls or under the slab. Warm spots on a floor, a wall that is damp with no obvious cause, mildew, or the sound of running water when nothing is on. A leak under a concrete slab often shows as a warm patch on the floor if it is on the hot line.
Reading your bill
Water bills in Bergen County are usually quarterly. Compare the current usage with the same quarter last year, not the previous quarter, because summer watering changes everything. A jump of more than about a fifth with no change in the household is worth investigating.
If you are on a well
Listen for the pump. With every tap off, the pump should not run at all. If it starts by itself every so often, water is leaving the system somewhere: a leaking fixture, a check valve at the pump, or a break in the line. Watch the pressure gauge on the tank: if it falls slowly with everything off, the same applies.
What a leak costs
At Bergen County water and sewer rates, a toilet flapper leaking a quarter of a gallon a minute wastes over three hundred gallons a day. Over a quarter, that is a noticeable bill. A leaking underground supply line can be far worse, and you pay for every gallon that soaks into the lawn.
When to call a plumber
- The meter runs with the main valve closed
- You have checked every fixture and the meter still moves
- Signs of a leak in a wall, a ceiling or under the floor
- A well pump that cycles by itself
Plumbers have listening equipment and thermal cameras for exactly this. Find a licensed plumber near your town.