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Water Meters, An Important Ally in Leak Detection
By understanding how to read your water meter you can be a better monitor your usage, conserve water and detect possible leaks in your home before they become major disasters.
- Location of Water Meter. Your water meter can either be located inside or outside of your home. If the meter is located inside, it is likely found in your utility room. If located outside, the meter is in a covered box with a curb-stop and a consumer-valve located with it. The curb-stop is what the public water suppliers regulate and the consumer-valve gives homeowners the ability to shut off water availability to the house.
- Meter Features. On the face of the water meter you will find a sweep handle, meter-register and a leak detector. The meter-register is composed of white and black numbers recording water passing through. The leak detector is a triangle or star shaped appliance that revolves to indicate water usage.
- Leak Detection. Your meter is a great mechanism for detecting leaks. Unusually high register digits represent water loss. If you take regular readings of this meter, you might be able to identify concealed leaks quickly and prevent the loss of gallons of water literally going down the drain. High costs, ongoing noise of running water when water flow is switched off, warm blots on floors or fractured walls all represent water leaks inside or outside your home.
- Meter assessment. Confirm or rule out water waste. In the evening before you go to bed, record the figures displayed on the register of the meter. Make sure to avoid any water consumption overnight, no running washing machines or dishwashers, no flushing toilets, no showering or switching on of faucets. The next morning reread your main meter. Higher digits on the meter register indicate leakage inside or outside your home.
Act quickly in the situation of a leak and contact your plumber. You want to resolve whatever is causing the leak as quickly as possible to prevent any further damage from occurring to your home.
