Top 3 Reasons Your Water Bill Is High | Insight from Your Trusted Richmond, VA Emergency Plumber

7/12/2020

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Is your water bill starting to get out of control? If it seems like your water bill has jumped up a lot over the past few months, there is a good chance that you have a plumbing leak somewhere in your home. While this may not necessarily require a call from a Richmond, VA emergency plumber, it does necessitate a call to a plumber. Your home is large, and your plumbing system is vast. There are hundreds of pipes and connections that are hidden behind the walls and in the ceilings and floors of your home.

There is simply no way that you can investigate every area of your home and find a leak without some help from an emergency plumber. Plumbers have tools that help them isolate leaks, and they also have years of experience which helps them build an instinct of sorts for leaks. Unless you want to keep spending hundreds extra on a water bill, it is probably a good idea to contact a local Richmond, VA emergency plumber. In the meantime, however, here are some of the most common reasons your water bill may be high.

Even if you discover the problem, you may still need the help of an emergency plumber to fix it, but in the meantime, you at least will know what is going on. In some cases, this may allow you to take proactive action to drop the costs associated with your water bill. Your goal should be to have a plumber fix the issue completely however so that your water bill doesn’t break the bank every month. With that in mind, here are some of the most common explanations for a high water bill.

Toilet Is Leaking

A toilet that is constantly leaking water in the bowl can waste an extraordinary amount of water without you even noticing. Most people don’t stop to observe the water level in the bowl, so they are not aware when extra water is building up and getting flushed with each cycle. An easy way to discover if this is the case in your home is to place food coloring in the toilet tank. Don’t use the toilet for a few hours and then lift the lid and take a peek. If the color in the bowl changes before you flush, this is an indication that water is leaking into the bowl from the tank. Give a plumber a call and they can change the flush valve or the flapper and solve the problem.

However, if you do this and find colored water on the floor around your toilet then you need to call an emergency plumber. This may be an indication that the wax seal around the bottom of the toilet is faulty, and this can not only cost you more money in water, but it will lead to severe water damage and a high water damage restoration bill. The sooner you get an emergency plumber in to check on the situation the cheaper it will end up being when you look at the long-term risks of ignoring the situation.

Look at All Your Water Faucets

Believe it or not, a leaky water faucet is enough to really push your water bill towards the triple digits. A faucet that drips on a regular basis can waste as much as 15,000 gallons of water every year. To put that in perspective, that is about how much water you need to fill a swimming pool. With that in mind, a leaky faucet is not just an annoyance, it is a major cost factor. If you don’t call an emergency plumber and get your leaky faucets fixed promptly, you are literally tossing money down the drain.

Be Aware of Hidden Leaks

If you cannot find a leaky faucet and your toilet checks out, then it is time to realize that you may have a leak in the wall or a slab leak. A slab leak is a term used for the piping system that is laid out under your foundation. These pipes are hidden in the slab of your home, and just like any other plumbing pipe in your home, they can rust and corrode over time with use.

If you suspect that you have a hidden leak, you will need an emergency plumber to come out and detect the leak for you. Unless you are Clark Kent, you will not be able to see the pipes unless you rip up your walls or floors. Since neither of these are welcome prospects, it’s worth calling an emergency plumber to come to evaluate your entire system with the proper tools. Using infrared technology plumbers can look at the piping systems in your home that would otherwise be hidden from view. With the minute of the inspection, the plumber can tell you if there is a copper pipe or galvanized pipe that is now leaking under the ground.

This is not something you want to leave alone, because while you cannot see the damage it is still occurring. Eventually, if a pipe is leaking into the foundation it can weaken or compromise the foundation. The same thing can happen if the hidden leaky pipes are in flooring, the walls, or the ceiling. A lot of leaks are hidden within a home, but that doesn’t make them any less powerful.

If your Richmond, VA water bill has suddenly spiked and you don’t know why then it is time to call an emergency plumber. Our team at bluefrog Plumbing + Drain will be happy to come out and investigate your faucets and your pipes to ensure there are no troublesome leaks. Give them a call today to book a visit and get your water bill squared back before it bankrupts you.