INCREASED water bill - should I be alarmed?

Question

Hey guys!

We have a 4-plex in San Diego, CA, and the water bill went up from 250$ (60 day billing cycle) to around 400$...  I am concerned that there could be some water leakage that can damage my property. What signs should I look for?

I DO have to mention the increase in water bill occurred right after a new tenant moved in. When we visited the property, we noticed the new tenant had a lot of green grass and taken care of plants in his yard. Could it be that the tenant is using up a lot of water?

Thanks,

Edita

Stephen S. · Answer

I rented a house to a woman with one small daughter one time. I knew her former landlord and he said that she was very clean and kept the property in excellent condition. Always paid the rent on time and etc. My houses always included a washer and dryer and she said that was nice - she liked that about my place.

She read the lease and found the clause about her paying for water & sewer. She "had never heard of that" and didn't think she should be paying it. Oh wth? I thought and said I would pay it. In those days it was about $100. a year. Everything about her checked out 100% so what's a $100. more or less a year to me? I agreed to pay the W&S myself.

As I said; the house included a clothes washer and a gas fired dryer. The dryer was small and old but worked well. Within two weeks she complained that the dryer was too small and too slow. Within about another two weeks the dryer broke. She wanted a new one. I fixed the old one. It soon broke again. She wanted a new dryer. I fixed it. The next time it broke (very soon) I said: to hell with this; I'll get a new one. I found a used electric dryer and grabbed a 30A breaker and 30 amp dryer outlet on my way over to the house. Got there and there was Already an electric dryer receptacle so I just slid the gas unit out and the electric unit in.

A month later she called to say that her electric bill had tripled or something.

Wow I can't imagine that an electric dryer would do that.

I have a gas dryer.

No; the old one was gas - the new one is electric.

I don't want an electric dryer

What's the difference? There was a hookup for both there.

(complain, complain, complain - too expensive to operate, etc.) But I left the electric dryer. A week or so after that the the washer broke. Too busy; I sent the appliance repair guy to fix it. $125. and it was going again. A month later it broke again. $150. this time - so I called.

Hey; you just fixed it a month ago!

It was something different this time. And the repair warranty in only 30 days anyway. That washer is really worn out. But you're a good customer - how about a rebuild? Tell you what; we'll swap it out for you for $150. and it will come with a one year warranty instead of our standard 90 days.

Done; install it tomorrow.

They repaired that washer at least a half dozen times over the next year. <g>

The next water bill came. I have a big house with a big and three wasteful kids and all their friends. My water bill was about $45. a quarter at the time. The tenant's water bill is $190. I call - and am told 'the standard' "you must have a leak sir".

So like a dope I call the tenant - she is mystified: Nope; no leaks that I know of. She does topic-switch to how nice she keeps the house; she cleans a lot, is anal compulsive about it, etc. Which is true; the place sparkles inside and out.

I am a pretty clever guy, even back then, so I go and look and check and fiddle and ponder - it all seems fine. I have the town change the meter - it must be wrong.

The next water bill is $220. I dye test the toilets. I clock the water meter for six hours. I shut off the water fill to the boiler. Nothing. The tenant is still mystified although she does mention again several times how she cleans the house a lot.

You clean the house a lot? What; with a fire hose? We are talking about tens of thousands of gallons of water here. Enough water to fill a few swimming pools - we are not talking about a dripping faucet grade leak here!

Normally I call with 24hrs notice - which she Always requires and often wants a day or two: she's working a double shift, etc. I am an idiot and busy in general and the puzzle piece doesn't fit yet. But my entire life is essentially: solving problems - so this one is really Working on me. Some 'possible?' thing occurs to me one time so I run right over with no notice. I find the house and garage is literally FILLED with clothes, loose in piles, folded, being irons, etc.

She is running a laundry service out of the house. <g>

stephen

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Andrea M. · Answer

Update for my leak: Water company adjusted my bill, which is now $58.64

Ryan Watson · Answer

Like others said, I'd start with the appliances. If you cant find anything, you might get lucky and find a part of your yard that stays soaked all the time, then thats a good indication you have a broken pipe underground.

On the other hand, you do have people that belive in taking 2, 3, or 4 showers a day. Like every time they do #2 in the bathroom. I'd hate to see a bill for people that do that.

You mentioned the renter likes to take care of the yard and plants. Im not sure how much of a well is for a viable option, but from what ive been reading i like the idea of the garden hose being ran from a well completely separate from city water. Hell with a 75 dollar a month jump, thats ridiculous. I'd be punching a well on the property.

Mike Marko · Answer

You definitely want to follow up on this.  The most common source of higher water consumption (at least what I found) is a toilet running constantly... and it is a $10 fix.

Aaron Junck · Answer

OMG!! What did you do after you found out this @Stephen S. ? lol

Mark B. · Answer

In my LL water paid units I have a provision that a reasonable amount of water will be provided. In the future I will tighten up the language and put a number on it when I sub meter. At least at this point if they let the hose run for days on end I would have a leg to stand on for charging them. Chatting with our water billing people once and the definition of reasonable can vary greatly; they will see single family bills as high as $400+.

Adam Johnson · Answer

Easy way to check for a leak between the tank/bowl of a toilet - put a couple drops of food color in the tank and don't do anything.  If the water in the bowl starts turning the same color after a few minutes (without flushing), you have a leaky flapper.  Sometimes hard to detect, can be very costly in wasted water, and very cheap and easy to fix.

Check for drippy faucets.

Most water meters have a leak detector on them.  Make sure everything is shut off tight at the faucet (don't shut valves in the lines off yet).  Go to your water meter.  The design varies, sometimes it is a tiny red triangle shape, other times it is a circle alternating black/white on the face.  If that is moving at all, you have a leak somewhere.  If you have somebody open a faucet just a little bit, you will easily find what/where your leak indicator is.

I had a problem tenant in one side of a duplex.  His kids would turn on the hose in the summer time to play, get bored, then walk away with the hose still on.  I pulled up one day and saw water running almost half a block away down the side of the street.  That apartment quickly had the outside hose connection removed completely.  Problem solved, but not after $ 1,000 water bill that the tenant left me with.

Andrew S. · Answer

@Edita D. by all means check for potential leaks, but certainly in my neck of the woods it is VERY easy to see that sort of a jump with watering even a small lawn.

INCREASED water bill - should I be alarmed?

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