Melbourne water bills don't usually jump without a reason. If yours has crept up and nothing about your household has changed, the most likely culprit is a leak you can't see, and it's costing you money around the clock.
The ten-minute meter test
Here's the same test we run on site. Turn off every tap and water-using appliance in the house: including the dishwasher, washing machine, evaporative cooler and irrigation. Find your water meter (usually at the front boundary) and take a photo of the reading, including the small red dials. Wait ten minutes without using any water, then check again. If the numbers have moved, water is flowing somewhere it shouldn't be.
The usual suspects
- **A running toilet**, the biggest silent waster. Put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern; if colour appears in the bowl without flushing, the outlet valve is leaking.
- **A weeping hot water valve**: the relief valve on your hot water unit should drip briefly during heating, not constantly. A steady dribble wastes hot water, the expensive kind.
- **Garden irrigation**, buried drippers and cracked poly pipe leak invisibly into soil. If the garden has a mysteriously green patch, that's your clue.
- **Underground supply pipe**, the pipe between the meter and the house can corrode and leak under paths and driveways. This one needs professional leak detection.
When to call us
If the meter test says you have a leak and the toilet test comes up clean, it's time for professional leak detection: pressure testing and acoustic equipment find the leak without digging up half the garden. We'll locate it precisely, quote the repair upfront, and document everything if you need it for an insurance claim.
Suspect a leak? Call 0423 345 575: finding it this quarter is a lot cheaper than paying for it every quarter.
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