Why Your Water Bill Suddenly Increased During a Plano Summer

Water usage naturally increases during the hot summer, and so your spike in costs can result from that. However, it can make sense to reverse engineer what’s going on with your home’s water usage for these two reasons:

• You may find opportunities to reduce your usage and, therefore, your water bill while still using enough water for practical and recreational activities
• This investigation could lead to the discovery of leaks that, once fixed, can reduce your high water bill in Plano, TX and protect your home from water-related damage

In this post, we’ll share information about normal upticks in water usage and bills, ways to troubleshoot your situation, and when to reach out for professional help. Moss Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is ready to assist you!

Reasons for Increased Water Usage in Summertime

During the summer months in Plano and elsewhere in Collin County and the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, it typically gets pretty hot and humid. This means that residents often use more water through:

• Filling up swimming pools
• Children playing in sprinklers, slip and slides, and other toys requiring water to enjoy
• Irrigating your lawn
• Watering your floral and vegetable gardens
• Pressure washing the porch, deck, and driveway
• Showering more often to cool off; when you have children on summer break from school, this means more people showering, more often

Look at this to see which water increases apply to your household.

How to Analyze Your Water Bill

First, you can pay attention to typical usage through information provided on your water bill. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a typical household uses 82 gallons daily per person, which results in a usage of ten thousand gallons monthly for a family of four. The drier the location and the season, the more water a household uses.

Municipalities measure water use in different ways, with the most common being by the gallon and by the centrum cubic foot (CCF). One CCF is equivalent to 748 gallons.

In Plano, local government factors in water, sewer, trash, and drainage fees in utility bills. When looking just at water, they use two elements:

• Base meter fee: This is the standard baseline fee that remains the same across consumption
• Consumption: This amount varies by usage, with Plano using a tiered rate system to encourage water conservation

Reviewing your usage patterns on your water bills and noticing trends can help you determine whether your high water bill in Plano, TX is simply due to normal summer increases or if something else may be going on.

Reducing Summer Water Usage

The EPA notes that homeowners use thirty to seventy percent of their water outdoors in the summer. About half of this is actually wasted because of evaporation in the heat, wind, or overwatering leading to water runoff.

Tips to reduce usage include the following:

• Determine how much water your plants in Plano need, and ask experts about the best time to water. It’s typically in the early morning and/or evening to avoid excessive evaporation.
• Make sure that your irrigation system doesn’t have any leaks or other issues. Fix any that you find.
• Use a soil moisture sensor to see if your grass or other plants really need more watering.
• Sweep your sidewalks, driveways, and steps instead of hosing them off.
• Raise your mower blade, leaving your grass a bit longer. This can reduce evaporation and create a yard more resistant to drought.

Is this process helping you to reduce your high water bill in Plano, TX? If yes, then great! If not, it’s time to turn your attention in another direction. You may have leaks in your plumbing system.

Besides utility bill spikes, other signs of leaks (often unseen) include:

• A musty odor from when trapped water is facilitating mold growth
• Dripping sounds even when faucets are turned off; a pipe failure behind walls could also have the sound of rushing water
• Water stains on ceilings and drywall and/or peeling wallpaper
• Soggy spots in your yard

Time for Leak Detection

Looking at EPA insights one more time, a typical household can lose more than 9,300 gallons of water annually. Perhaps even more shocking, nine percent of homes have water-wasting leaks at the rate of fifty gallons or more daily.

Three common leak culprits are as follows:

• Worn-down toilet flappers
• Dripping faucets
• Other types of leaking valves

Taking care of easily addressed leaks can save a family ten percent on their water bills.

Experts at Moss Heating, Cooling & Plumbing offer prompt leak detection services, addressing them efficiently and thoroughly. Our process involves:

• Thermal imaging and acoustic sensors to spot moisture paths in non-invasive ways to protect your Plato home
• Pinpointing exact locations of leaks without tearing into your home’s flooring or drywall
• Creating a logical plan to repair the water leak, whether it’s a simple seal replacement or replacing sections of piping seriously damaged by our region’s mineral-heavy “hard” water
• Providing a long-term solution that restores dependability to your plumbing system, which can help to lower your high water bill in Plano, TX

Most commonly, we find and repair leaks in bathroom and kitchen fixtures. As noted by the EPA, leaks can lead to hundreds or even thousands of gallons of wasted water each year, unnecessarily costing your family money.

In bathrooms, leaks from bathtub or shower drains can lead to big problems, including water damage in the subflooring. Even more significant are main line and hidden pipe issues, which homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area are particularly vulnerable to. Often caused by the shifting of the region’s Blackland Prairie clay soil, foundations can move, with the resulting pipe stress leading to cracks and separations. This can especially happen during Plano’s hot, dry summers.

In this frustrating situation, you can count on Moss for slab leak repair. We use specialized tools for leak detection, diagnose the problem, and offer solutions ranging from spot repairs to pipe rerouting.

Experiencing a High Water Bill in Plano, TX? Need Leak Detection? Contact Moss!

Whether you’ve got a chronic leak or a plumbing emergency, you need a professional team that’s readily available to help 24/7. Our technicians have specialized expertise with the particular residential plumbing challenges of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Moss Heating, Cooling & Plumbing makes it convenient to finance the repairs you need for a safe, reliable plumbing system, fixing leaks that cost you money. We also offer regular maintenance plans to protect you and your Tarrant County home against future problems.

We are fully committed to quality craftsmanship and transparent pricing, with your satisfaction being 100% guaranteed. If you’d like an analysis of your plumbing situation in Plano, please connect with our team at 972-616-4894.