Save water and detect leaking pipes - Conduct a water audit

Save water and detect leaking pipes - Conduct a water audit

Conducting a water audit on your home is a great way to make sure that you don’t have any hidden leaks or pipes that are letting water out without your knowledge. It’s also a great way to find out what taps, toilets or showers are using up more water than they should be.

Cutting back on your water consumption is a great way to save money and also help the environment. Water is a precious commodity and is all too often wasted without thought. Being aware of your water consumption is the first step to becoming water aware.

With this in mind here’s how to conduct a water audit on your home.

Water usage changes depending on the season

One thing we need to cover first is that water consumption will change depending on the season. Obviously in summer we tend to use more water for gardens, filling up pools, washing, etc and in winter we tend to use less water overall but more hot water for showers, baths, etc.

If you’re conducting a water audit on your home it’s important to note what season you’re doing it in and allow for more or less water consumption throughout the year.

Option 1 - Calculate your water usage from your water bill

The first step to understanding your water usage is to take a look at your water bill. Typically bills give you a quarterly breakdown of your water usage and will sometimes give you a comparison over time and also to others in your region.

If your water usage is on par with others in your region and you can’t see any spikes or increases in your usage then it’s likely your home is OK in the water leakage / consumption front, if however you’re using much more water than others and you’re seeing an increase in the usage of water (without using more on the garden, etc) then it’s possible you have an issue.

The arrows on the image below show your water usage (Unity Water) how to check your water bill for water consumption

Option 2 - Calculate your water usage using your water meter

If you want to double check your water usage or want a reading (and don’t want to wait for your next bill) you can calculate your water usage using your water meter. This is a pretty straight forward process. It’s a simple case of taking readings at the same time each day for several days (we usually recommend a week) and then averaging this out.

Here’s a link to a handy water meter reading spreadsheetif you’re one of those organised people that use these types of things – I’m a pen and notebook kind of guy :-)

If you’re not sure how to get to your water meter here’s how

Conserving Water

We get a lot of clients saying they are getting large water bills but aren’t sure why. Many times we find there’s a leaking water pipe in a wall or an underground water leak and we will need to do some water pipe leak detection.

One of the easiest things to do to ensure you’re not wasting water is to test your home and make sure this isn’t happening to you. The easiest way to test this is to follow these steps. It’s preferable to do this test when no-one is home and you won’t need to use toilets, showers or water for cooking.

  1. Take your water meeting reading.
  2. Wait at least one hour and make sure that no-one uses any water.
  3. After one hour check your water meter again.

It’s really that simple. If your water meter has changed or you can physically see your water meter ticking over it might be time to call a water leak plumber like us!

If you have a suspected leak or have unusually high water bills, call us today on 0412 634 599

banner image by Zsolt Fila