# Extreme water usage for single guy living alone - HELP



## CarrPainting (Jun 29, 2010)

Ya I have bee watching that little arrow, it doesnt move. I put a line next to the needle on the big dial last night... Since last night, at around 6PM, to this morning...

I have made a pot of coffee, and flushed the toilet once (showered at moms)

total gallon usage:6 gallons.

Seriously like WTF?!


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## overanalyze (Dec 28, 2010)

Start turning your main off before you leave...then read when you leave and when you get home.


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

Inner10 said:


> Put a valve on the bypass so you can throttle it a bit...doesn't look good to go from 12k to 0. :laughing:


Nah, I just took the meter out and left it lying on the floor for six months, in that time the city tried to shut off my water at the b-box three times without any luck.


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## aptpupil (Jun 12, 2010)

overanalyze said:


> Start turning your main off before you leave...then read when you leave and when you get home.


this is what i would do. turn the main off and you'll determine if it's within the house or between the meter and the house. i've seen this kind of thing happen before between the meter and the main shut off. it's the only feasible way a single guy of reasonable intelligence could be going through thousands of gallons of water without knowing it. you're not forgetting about the back 40 you water every morning are you? :laughing:


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

CarrPainting said:


> Ya I have bee watching that little arrow, it doesnt move. I put a line next to the needle on the big dial last night... Since last night, at around 6PM, to this morning...
> 
> I have made a pot of coffee, and flushed the toilet once (showered at moms)
> 
> ...


O.K. So if you're like me, you wash your hands, rinse the pot, and make a gallon of coffee. If you have an old toilet, it might be using 3.5 to 4 or even 5 gallons per flush. so there's your 6 gallons.  :thumbsup:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

KillerToiletSpider said:


> Nah, I just took the meter out and left it lying on the floor for six months, in that time the city tried to shut off my water at the b-box three times without any luck.


Did ya bother to disconnect the wire that runs to the meter?


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

Alright op...what happened? Or did you drown? :whistling


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

Have you tried putting food coloring in your toilet tank?


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

Does your neighbor have a pool?:whistling


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

Inner10 said:


> Did ya bother to disconnect the wire that runs to the meter?


Nope, I left the remote attached, they would drive by once a month and make a note that I had used no water that month.


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## BamBamm5144 (Jul 12, 2008)

KillerToiletSpider said:


> Nope, I left the remote attached, they would drive by once a month and make a note that I had used no water that month.


Really? All this for water? It's like a dollar a day.


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

BCConstruction said:


> + my wifes drinks about 3 gallons a day.


Wow, even my brother the alcoholic doesn't drink that much! :jester:


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

BamBamm5144 said:


> Really? All this for water? It's like a dollar a day.


When you use 8,000 gallons of water in 6 days and all you are doing is taking normal showers, flushing the toilet and brushing your teeth then there is something terribly wrong. I think my family of 4 uses 11,000 gallons in a 3 month period. 

What is wrong is that the water company is going to expect him to pay that bill. And if its like around here, your sewer fees are based on how much water you take into your home. They assume if it goes in it goes out through their sewer system. Couldn't be farther from the truth, but that is how they calculate it.


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## overanalyze (Dec 28, 2010)

Leo G said:


> When you use 8,000 gallons of water in 6 days and all you are doing is taking normal showers, flushing the toilet and brushing your teeth then there is something terribly wrong. I think my family of 4 uses 11,000 gallons in a 3 month period.
> 
> What is wrong is that the water company is going to expect him to pay that bill. And if its like around here, your sewer fees are based on how much water you take into your home. They assume if it goes in it goes out through their sewer system. Couldn't be farther from the truth, but that is how they calculate it.


Yep its like that in my city as well...but can you imagine a meter on the sewer line...gross. Would not be fun to service that! Only way around it in my town is to have two meters, one for inside water and one for hydrants. The hydrant meter doesn't get sewer charged to it...but there is still a minimum use charge so usually isn't worth it unless you have irrigation for your lawn or something like that.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Ya, I was thinking watering your lawn and filling your pool, washing your vehicle, your dog and other things that go down the ground instead of the sewer.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Leo G said:


> Ya, I was thinking watering your lawn and filling your pool, washing your vehicle, your dog and other things that go down the ground instead of the sewer.


If you have a pool or lawn watering system there are discounts that are applied to the waste bill. They won't just give them to you though. You have to call and tell them to apply these discounts.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

RobertCDF said:


> Wow, even my brother the alcoholic doesn't drink that much! :jester:


Listen to this then. Wife is doing weekly checks ups now of baby and they said she should be drinking half her current body weight in water a day  that's about 70lbs of water a day at her current weight :blink:


She thought the guy was crazy when he said this.


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## BamBamm5144 (Jul 12, 2008)

Leo, I was referring to KillerSpider, not the op. I agree that's messed up.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

I worked on a basement job a few years back, the plumber and I came across a valve we have never seen, it made a percolating sound....... wtf is it.... finally I took a picture of it and asked an old plumber.



The valve was installed to add water into the drain so no sewer gasses dont seep into the house when the owner went on vacation - installed in the 30's here is a picture.



Not sure you have this valve or what year the house was built...but I thought i would share


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## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

CarrPainting said:


> So I live alone, with my dog.
> 
> I take 1 shower a day til the hot water runs out... Maybe 10 minutes? 40Gallon tank.
> 
> ...


Start reading and recording your own meter. Then compare the reading to your bill. After that I would be looking for refund.


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