The $550 leaking toilet

Two months ago, when the utility bill for our duplex was a little higher, I figured it was a fluke, paid the bill and thought no more of it. Then the next bill came - over $200 dollars more than normal! After turning off various water valves in both sides of the duplex, we found the culprit - a leaking toilet in the rental side. By the next day we had the toilet fixed, and I figured our next utility bill would be closer to normal (taking into account the delay between meter reading and billing).

Not so, the next bill arrived with another $180 extra on it. I run straight out to the water meter to make sure that the problem really had been fixed. It had - the meter had only registered a normal amount of use since the last meter reading.

When a toilet leaks, it can really leak! All in all, I figure we spent about $550 on that leak, and only $90 of it was to get the toilet fixed.

The moral of the story - get your leaks fixed as soon as they start! And if you have a rental, make sure they know to report problems immediately!