If you are concerned that you might have a leak there are a few things to check:

To check for a leak, turn all the water off in your home, then check your meter (near your hot water heater, usually in the basement or crawl space) and see if the meter is running. If it is you may have a leak. There is a small dial that looks like a snowflake on the face of your transponder; if that is moving you may have a leak.

• House humidifier – If you have a humidifier on your heater, it could be leaking. If the drain hose to your humidifier goes straight to your floor drain, you could have a leak and not know it. If you turn the humidifier off and disconnect it from the heater, and your meter stops running, then the humidifier is likely leaking.
• Sprinkler systems – Sprinkler systems can leak at the solenoid, the sprinkler heads, the drip line or the actual sprinkler line. Even if you have the system turned off at the control box, as long as the valve is open allowing water to the system a leak will flow. To check if the sprinkler system is leaking, make sure there is no water turned on at your home. If the meter is running you can shut off the sprinkler main valve in the basement and if the meter stops that confirms it is the sprinkler line.
• Leaking toilet – If the flapper inside your tank fails to seal, you could develop a small leak that will grow into a larger leak. We provide leak detection tabs that we can send to you, or you can simply put food coloring into the back of your tank. Once you have put the tablet or food coloring in tank, wait 15 minutes. If the colored water from the back of the tank is in the bowl of the toilet, you have a leak. Usually, changing out the flapper will solve the problem.
• Hot water heaters – Hot Water Heaters typically have a 10- to 15-year life expectancy. Over time, they can corrode on the bottom and drip. You should check under the heater with a flashlight because leaks can be hard to detect.
• Copper piping – Pipes can “pit” over time, leaving pinprick holes in the pipes. You may see water pooling in a spot that you would not expect. It could be under a base cabinet in your bathroom in a wall, or anywhere pipes are. This is prevalent in homes with hot water loops. Consult with a plumber because these holes are hard to detect.
• Faucets, dishwasher hoses, outside hose bibs, ice maker hoses, washing machine hoses – These items all have the potential to leak. In our dry climate, rubber hoses tend to dry out and need to be replaced every few years. You can inspect these by bending a piece of the hose and see if it is still pliable. If not, you should replace it. Water pressure in your house should be between 60-65 psi.
• If you have a large bill and do not have a leak you may want to verify how much water your sprinklers use per cycle. Most of us do not know how much water we use when we water our lawns. To determine the amount, monitor your water meter.