Morning all

Got a bit of a dilemma..
Was called by the water company yesterday who said my usage had increased dramatically over the past 6 months. Details are:
Average over past few years 0.14m3
Average over 6months to Dec 2011 0.84m3
Usage from 15/12/11 to 10/01/12 0.40m3

I did the stop tap test to find out the leak must be in the house as the meter stopped once I turned off the supply but was turning when the stop tap was on but we weren’t using any water.

Before I call out a plumber I want to check things myself so was going to check toilet cisterns and any dripping taps etc.

Does anyone have any other ideas of what it could be?

We had a second child in September and use reusable nappies so are doing more washing but could this account for the large increase in usage?

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

Its one of those things you don’t want to hear about on the day your car is being MOT’d!!

0.84m³ in 6 months doesn't sound right for a domestic property, way to low.

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Sorry - wasn't clear!
The amounts I listed were "per day" i.e from 0.14m3 per day to 0.84m3.

Cheers

Average to Dec is 0.84m³ but the last 25 days is only 0.40m³

It sounds like usage to be honest, do you do car washing, garden watering etc in the summer.

Why not take a reading and run the washing machine through a wash to see how much water you get through, You could do the same with baths and showers.

By all means check for running taps etc.

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Thanks Scruff
No car washing etc or any high usage activities!
My concern is that last night we turned everything off (but kept the stop tap on) and the meter was still running which indicated that something was being used/ or a leak
I will definitely check the usage of a washing machine though - the missus works that machine hard!!

Yes you need to test the mains etc for leaks drips etc.

Try turning the stopcock off, leaving it for a couple of hours with no water use, then checking the kitchen tap to see whether there's any pressure still there or does it suck in air.

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Have you checked outside tap? Do you have a tank in the loft? Check ballvalve in loft tank/s.

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Your problem is now our problem

Thanks Morridge,

As it turns out I ran through the toilets, taps etc and the last place I got to was the loft where an old ball valve seemed to be the problem.
I replaced it last night and when the valve is closed and no other water is on the meter stops so I am happy that there is no other leak.

My only remaining queries are:
1. Is it the case with all tanks that they take an age to stop filling? Because the valve closes when the ball raises it trickles out so it takes longer for the ball to get high enough to close.
2. I am at a loss where all the supposed used water went if it was the ball valve that was the problem. We did not notice the overflow pipe dripping or pouring and the only other place it could go to is the hot water cyclinder. If our usage went up to 0.84m3 per day that seems like a lot of water to “disappear”. Does anyone have any ideas what may have happened?

One thing that did happen last November is that I had to use a plumber through my energy provider home service to fix the boiler clock and mixer valve in the airing cupboard. He knocked a pipe leading into the hot water cyclinder tank which caused a big leak so he had to empty that tank as well as the two (don’t ask why) cold water storage tanks in the loft in order to solder and fix the pipe. Could the refilling of these tanks lead combined with maybe an extra washing machine cycle have lead to a usage change from 0.14m3 to 0.84m3 a day over a 6 month period?

The major reason for sudden increases in use is modern style WC's with internal overflows.

Nearly a M³ of water a day is a lot of water.

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