huge water loss

Maine Doug_74

the water and sewer bill was changed to the tenant and I charged extra because we have a parking pad in the city. How can one expect to manage resources such as water when renters can waste it with no penalty. Too many nanny state rules.

Timco

I got a letter from the water department regarding our duplex. Last year the usage was 7 units in dec, jan, feb and march. This year it is 10 dec, 26 jan, 14 feb, 13 march. (a unit is 748 gallons) That means our duplex (two one bdrm units with 2 guys in one side and a single guy in the other side) used 14,212 gallons more this jan than last jan, and all we did was install a washer / dryer. That averages out to 444 gallons per day more than last year. Any ideas how a duplex could possibly use between 10,472 and 19,448 gallons per month with NO leaks? I checked and the meter held a perfect stop test all day while they were gone. If I check the accuracy of the meter, how many cubic feet are in a gallon (or vise/versa)?

Thanks, Tim

bob young

icu.ft. water = 7.485 gal.

eluv8

any swimming pools near by. landscaping, I have a friend who caught his neighbor stealing water to fill his pool.

bruce_21

Are these tenants letting the sinks or showers dribble? 10,000 gallons a month is only a 1/4 gallon per minute. Maybe a toilet flapper is not sealing well leading to the ballcock cycling. Radiant slab leaking downwards? Water softener stuck in purge mode? Just some crazy things that popped into my head.

Alan_11

Laundromat

Maybe your tenants started a business? or more likely filled a skating rink?

Timco

Well, unless a flapper stuck for a few months but self healed, no leaks at all. Perfect stop test all day. No radiant, softener, or pools. This was a cold winter, so no landscaping watering.(like they would water the lawn anyway) I guess the next step is to call them again and ask just how many showers are being taken. There is not even a dishwasher in either unit...just a wash machine in the unit with 2 guys. The incomming main is new copper 2 years old. I replaced it. Thanks for the ideas. It seems to be a conservation issue, or lack thereof.

Tim

Larry Weingarten

Can't rule out...

... operator error. Someone could have left a hose running overnight or waited a bit too long to get hot water to the shower ;~) Are you sure the meter got read correctly? My utility used to get that one wrong every so often.

Yours, Larry

Timco

I will be checking the meter accuracy next week when I am over there. water co says no way the read was wrong, they are x-mitted to the truck and not read by a person. If a hose was left on there would have been a HUGE ice tumor and both bibs are visible from the street. Maybe a flapper stuck while someone was out of town? I just can't believe how much water was used. We are not so concerned with paying the bill which is still pretty low, but our summer time sewer charge will be more than doubled based on the giant winter usage. (from $12/mo to 28/mo) Both tanants claim no excessive usage and no leaks. All plumbing fixtures are new.

Tim

Chris S

excess

Is this a free standing building, or part of a larger unit?
In my area a tenant recently proved to the utility that they were getting billed for someone elses usage. In a six unit building 2 meters were "crossed" piping & billing were crossed.
Doesn't help you I know, but the quirk I thought was that now that it's straightened out, the person who was getting the lower bill doesn't want to pay & is mad at the neighbor who found the problem & got it fixed.

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SPB

water usage

Along with the flappers, handles stick. I large one I find in rentals is the screens missing on the aerators and shower heads gone bad. I've tested some shower heads for customers who didn't belive at 5 gallons a minute. They make locking aerators, (need a special tool to remove. Probably will only slow them down though). Make sure your utility didn't average. Some when they get a bad reading will just average up for what the area uses. One of your tenants may also have a house 'guest" that takes a lot of baths, or all the above. Add that with the washer, and again guest washing clothes it all adds up. Change to a coin machine?

Timco

This is a stand alone duplex. Everything plumbing related is new. I will just present the numbers to the tenants and see what happens. There is no clause for wasteful water usage...we pay water as stated in our lease.

Tim

Timco

I will certainly check the shower heads, but where would the areator screens go? Are they not stainless steel? Do they rot out? I will check those too. I guess water saving features are as important as no leaks. We bumped the rent up $40 / month for the wash / dry steup.

Tim

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

Tenants

Sometimes people remove the inner parts of the aerator to get more water quicker. I have also seen tenants leave the water running to thaw chicken in the sink, it drives me crazy. The problem here in Mass. is that we can not charge for water. I have a single family that I rent out and I can not even charge them for the water they use, I have to pay their water bill. This discourages water conservation.

Thanks, Bob Gagnon

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Hvacman

Two thoughts...

On a hydronic board we should ask about a steam boiler sending the water up the chimney! I've also seen many weird tenant issues during years of maintenance work, how about a tenant running a shower 24/7 to humidify the apartment during the winter! I found that one at 2am due to a leak complaint downstairs.

bob young

vandel proof

put in a shower head with a built in water saver. only way they can alter is to drill it out. brass only has a tiny bore but it works

SPB

water usage

I also have seen the shower used as a humidfier, tough on the building. As per the aerator on the lavatory sink faucet, MANY people use the screens for dope pipes. Many restaurants and puplic places also have a problem with it. I'm also for the single hole shower heads, not the most comfortable but they work. I also have seen all boilers, not just steam leak and vent up the flue. Most go on for a long time before showing up on the floor. don't think it would amount to this much hot water, but who knows. Never had anyone monitor it before. I replace about 4 cast iron boilers a year, (not installed correctly) that leak for a long time before anyone notices. Could be...?

Jim_64

Are you postive the water outlet of the clothes washer is high enough to eliminate the possibility of self-syphoning at any fill level?

Weezbo

a friend got a meter reading

saying the house used 94000 gallons of water in a month.. Check the meter. AGAIN....

no way the meter reader people could have gotten it wrong so they say buh that much water and the pinner house would be floating to the river as a house boat..

Donny

In a double we own we installed a second meter just downstream of the first [under $100] and connected all the other tenants piping to it. Now they each pay for their useage. Problem gone!