Watch your plumbing fixtures!

[Carl C.]

I'm on my first rental property.My water bill comes quarterly. A few months after my tenants moved in I got a call from the water company and they said "you're water usage has spiked from your previous billing period, you may want to check for leaks or a running toilet". I figured that makes sense, The house sat vacant for over a year before I bought it. I appreciated the heads up. The bill came and it was over $200. I had no way to know if that was right or not. Four people live in the house. seemed like a lot of money but who knows. The next time I stopped by the house, I noticed one of the toilets was running. Not a lot but very slightly. Minor adjustment to the flapper and it stopped. I asked how long that was going on: "oh a while I guess". We then had a talk about letting me know when something like that is happening. I just got my next water bill: $60. Lesson learned. Check your fixtures folks, and make sure your tenants understand when there is a potential problem. It amazes me how much water was wasted with a slightly leaking toilet. 

[Colleen F.]

Two tenants with leaking bathroom faucets doubled the water usage for  6 units from 100 gallons/person/day to 200/ gallons.   I am amazed what leaks can do.  I  have been tracking use over the past month and each fix helps . Next apartment turnover  we are getting another low flow toilet which also has a big impact. I hate to take out a good functional toilet but they are also water hogs.

Good for you that the water company called.