You probably know that wasting water is bad for the environment and your wallet. But did you know that even the smallest water leaks can release thousands of gallons of water a month? All water leaks are costly. For this reason, the best way to conserve water and reduce utility bills is to stop water leaks as fast as possible. To do so, you must know how to detect a water leak in Geauga County. These tips from Hatz will help you check for leaks in and around your home.

How to Read Your Water Meter in Geauga County

Because a water meter tracks how much water a household uses, reading your water meter is essential for detecting a water leak. Reading your water meter can also help you understand your water usage and lower your bills.

In Geauga County, water meters are usually in the basement or crawl space where the water line enters the house or outside in a concrete utility box near the street. You’ll read your water meter like a car’s mileage indicator because both feature a six-digit counter. The four numbers on the left of your water meter record water usage in Thousand Cubic Feet (MCF). One MCF is 7,480 gallons, and you’ll see that your water is measured in MCFs on your Geauga County water bill. These bills don’t include the two numbers on the far right, but those numbers can help you measure water usage.

To determine how much water you’ve used in a day, you must read your water meter at the start and end of 24 hours. So, read it at the same time two days in a row and then subtract the first day’s reading from the second day’s reading. The answer will be in MCFs, so you must multiply the answer by 7,480 to see how many gallons of water you used in a day.

How to Shut Off Your Water in Geauga County

Another essential skill for detecting a water leak is knowing how to shut off your water system. To minimize the damage and expenses of a water leak, you must know where your water system's main shut-off valve is and how to turn it off, as this valve controls all the water entering your house.

If your Geauga County home has a basement, your shut-off valve is usually close to the front foundation wall where your water line enters your home from the street, and your water heater or furnace should be nearby as well.

If your house has a crawl space, your shut-off valve is probably on a vertical water supply pipe on the front foundation wall near the access door.

Your shut-off valve may be a ball valve or a gate valve, and you can ensure it works properly by testing it.

To close a ball valve, give it a quarter turn. The handle will be perpendicular to the water line when the ball valve is closed. When it’s open, the handle will be parallel to the water line.

To close a gate valve, turn the handle clockwise. And don’t force your gate valve to close. If it doesn’t close easily, consider having it repaired so it does.

After you close the shut-off valve, you can turn on a faucet in your house to confirm the main valve is off and working properly. Slowly turning the valve until it is fully open restarts the water.

How to Detect a Water Leak in Geauga County

Your water meter can help you detect a leak with the flow indicator. The flow indicator – which can be a blue, red, or white star, triangle, asterisk, or gear – turns whenever water is running through the system. To use the flow indicator to detect a water leak, take these steps:

• Turn off all indoor and outdoor water-using appliances, such as sinks, showers, hoses, etc.

• Watch the flow indicator on the water meter for five minutes to see if it turns.

• If it moves when water is not in use, there is a water leak. If it does not move during that time, there isn’t a water leak.

Alternatively, follow these steps:

• Turn off all indoor and outdoor water-using appliances, such as hoses, showers, sinks, etc.

• Check the water meter and record its reading.

• Wait two hours without using any water.

• Check the water meter again. If the reading has changed, there is probably a water leak.

How to Locate a Water Leak in Geauga County

If your water meter reading suggests there is a leak, you can start to pinpoint the location of the leak by taking these steps:

• Close the house shut-off valve.

• Check the water meter.

• If the flow indicator moves within a few minutes, the leak is outside. Most often, an outdoor leak is in the irrigation system or the underground service line between the meter and the house.

• If the flow indicator doesn’t move, the leak is inside the house. Toilets or faucets are the most likely sources.

If you have an outdoor leak, you should check the irrigation system first. You might have an irrigation valve stuck open or a spigot that is dripping. Next, you should assess the ground above the underground service line for water or muddy spots between the meter and the house. If you can’t find any signs of a leak, you should contact a professional plumber.

If your leak is indoors, analyze the toilet tanks first. You can use a dye test to see if the silent rubber flap in one of your toilet tanks is the leak culprit. Doing a dye test involves placing dye in the toilet tank and waiting five minutes to see if the dye enters the bowl. If it does, the flapper is leaking.

If none of your toilets are leaking, you should move on to inspecting all other water-using appliances and fixtures.

How to Fix a Water Leak in Geauga County

If you’re suffering from a common water leak, such as a broken toilet flapper or stuck irrigation valve, you can fix it yourself. But if your leak is more complicated, such as a service line leak, you should seek the help of a professional plumber.

Thankfully, Hatz Plumbing can fix any indoor or outdoor water leak. Our experienced technicians will quickly and effectively find and repair the leak. We can manage any leak, so call Hatz to stop a water leak fast!