Here’s an unpleasant experience most of us are familiar with: your monthly bill arrives, and the amount on it is much higher than normal. Suddenly, your monthly budget plan has been thrown off, and you’re scrambling to find out exactly why the cost has made an abrupt jump.

Our Durham, NC plumbers are familiar with a wide range of different plumbing troubles that can affect homes, so we have a good idea of the reasons that your water bill might arrive showing a higher gallons-per-month usage. In most cases, you’ll need to have professionals take care of repairs—and we have the people for the job ready 24/7 to help out!

ONE: Old and outdated fixtures

There are many older homes in Durham built before 1960. Homes this old can certainly be charming, but they also have plumbing fixtures in them that can create extreme water waste as they get older. There are many newer fixtures, such as low-flow toilets and faucets, that use significantly less water. If your fixtures don’t have the WaterSense label on them, we strongly recommend you contact us to arrange for new fixture installation.

TWO: Leaking faucets

You might think that a faucet that drips now and then isn’t that big a deal (unless it’s keeping you awake at night), but those little drips add up to major water waste. When those high bills come in, take a tour of your home’s faucets and showerheads and other taps to see if any are dripping. Look for water droplets around the drain. Have the faucets repaired—or possibly replaced—as soon as you can. Something this simple can make a big difference.

THREE: A running toilet

The toilet in a home accounts for 40% of indoor water use on average. So when a toilet starts to run, allowing water to flow from the tank to the bowl in between flushes, it can mean a spike in water bills. When you see high water costs, go to each of the toilets in your house and place a few drops of water dye in their tanks. Check on them a half hour later; if the dye has moved from the tank to the bowl, you’ve got a running toilet. Have it repaired—and in the case of a toilet more than 20 years old, have it replaced with a low-flow model.

FOUR: Slab leaks

Hidden leaks are often the cause of water bills that are too high. And no type of hidden leak is trickier to locate and fix than the slab leak, which is a leak in the pipes down in the concrete foundation of a home. If you can’t find an obvious reason for high water bills, contact us for slab leak detection.

FIVE: Wasteful behavior

Sorry to say it, but sometimes the problem is you. Or others in your household. People can fall into wasteful behavior when it comes to water, like overwatering lawns or taking long showers. Did you know that washing dishes by hand is more wasteful of water than using a dishwashing machine? So look around to see if you’re doing things like running half-loads of laundry or running hot water to thaw out frozen meat. Making some basic adjustments can mean cutting down on those high bills.

Bud Matthews Services: We’re here for all your home service needs in Durham!