Checking for a Hidden Leak
If your water bill has gone up or you hear water running when nothing's on, the meter can confirm a leak in a few minutes.
Request a plumberShut everything off
Make sure no taps, toilets, the washer, dishwasher, ice maker or humidifier are using water.
Find the leak indicator
Most meters have a small triangle, star or dial that turns when any water flows. Watch it for a minute.
Inside or outside
Close the main at the house. If the indicator stops, the leak is inside. If it keeps turning, it's likely in the service line.
Toilet test
Put food coloring in each toilet tank and wait 15 minutes without flushing. Color in the bowl means the flapper leaks.
After a freeze
Check again after every hard freeze. Pipes that cracked in the cold often start leaking as they warm up.
Get help
If you can't find it, see leak detection.
Overnight check
For slow leaks the indicator may barely move. Write down the full meter reading at bedtime, make sure nobody uses water overnight, and read it again first thing. Any change means water is escaping somewhere, even if it's too slow to see on the indicator.
Look outside too
Soggy ground over the service line, a patch of grass that stays green in a dry spell, or water pooling near the meter pit can all point to a leak outdoors. Lines that freeze and thaw every winter are the most likely to crack, so walk the yard in spring once the snow has gone and the ground has dried out.
More plumbing guides
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