Rising Water Bill or a Hidden Leak
A water bill that keeps climbing when nothing in the house has changed. Here is what usually causes it in Tacoma-area homes, the checks you can make in a few minutes, and how we find the leak and fix it.
Why Is My Water Bill So High When I Can’t See a Leak?
Usually because water is running somewhere you are not looking. A toilet that refills on its own is the most common cause, then a dripping fixture or outdoor faucet, then a leak in the service line under the yard or in a pipe inside a wall or crawl space. The meter tells you which kind you have.
This April, a homeowner in Parkland called us about a high water bill, and the fix was inside the house rather than under it: Devin rebuilt the tanks on two toilets. A worn tank lets water slip into the bowl and down the drain around the clock, and rebuilding it takes no digging and no opened walls.
Last July, near Lake Tapps, the cause was outside. James dug along the side of the house, past the retaining-wall blocks and a pair of corrugated drains, until he reached the main water line about three feet down. He removed the damaged section, joined new PEX pipe to the old black poly line on one side and the copper on the other with fittings made for each, then turned the water back on, checked for leaks and flushed the house through a hose bib to clear any dirt from the line.
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What Causes a Rising Water Bill
The causes we find, roughly from most to least common.
A Toilet That Runs or Refills on Its Own
A worn flapper or fill valve lets water trickle from the tank into the bowl, sometimes with no sound at all. It runs day and night, which is why the Parkland call about a high bill ended with two toilet tanks rebuilt.
A Dripping Faucet or Showerhead
A steady drip adds up over a billing period, and a shower valve that never quite closes is easy to miss behind a curtain.
An Outdoor Faucet or Irrigation Line
A hose bib that will not shut off, a split line behind the siding or an irrigation zone that runs longer than you think, all of it outside where nobody is watching.
A Leak in the Service Line
The pipe from the meter to the house is buried, and it can leak into the soil for a long time before the yard shows it. Older service lines joined from mixed materials, like the steel clamped to black poly near Lake Tapps, are the ones that fail.
A Leak Inside a Wall or Crawl Space
A pinhole or a failed fitting on a supply line under the house can run unseen until it shows up as a stain, a musty smell or a meter that never stops. Our Tacoma pipe repair page shows two we found this year.
A Water Heater or Pressure Problem
A relief valve that drips to a drain, or a pressure-reducing valve that has failed and lets pressure climb, wastes water you never see.
Where the water is going tells you who fixes it. A running toilet or a drip is a small repair; a leak on the service line or inside the structure needs a plumber to find and reach it.
What You Can Safely Check
These checks take a few minutes and none of them means opening anything up.
Listen to Every Toilet
Stand by each toilet when it has not been flushed for a while. A hiss, a trickle or a tank that refills on its own means water is getting past the flapper or the fill valve.
Try a Few Drops of Food Coloring
Put a few drops in each toilet tank and wait 15 minutes without flushing. Color in the bowl means the tank is leaking into it and needs new parts.
Walk the Outside
Check every hose bib and the ground along the foundation and between the meter and the house for a soft, wet or unusually green patch, especially in dry weather.
Watch the Meter
With nothing running inside or out, see whether the meter’s leak indicator or dial keeps moving. Our guide to unexplained water use explains how to read Tacoma Water’s hourly usage online as well.
When to Stop
If water is coming through a ceiling, reaching an outlet or spraying from a pipe, close the main shutoff and call us; do not keep testing. Never open, force or disconnect anything at the meter itself, because that equipment belongs to the utility. Our emergency service page covers what to do first.
How We Find and Fix the Leak
The fix follows the cause, and we find the leak before we dig or cut.
Test Before We Open Anything
A gauge on a hose bib shows whether the pressurized piping is holding. In Park Place North, in Tacoma’s North End, Terrence ran a 15-minute pressure test that held 60 psi the whole time, and he found no leak in the piping he tested.
Learn more →Rebuild Leaking Toilets
New flappers, fill valves or tank parts, as Devin did for two toilets in Parkland.
Learn more →Repair the Service Line
We excavate to the leak, cut out the damaged section and join new pipe to the old with the right fitting for each material, then flush the line.
Learn more →Repair Leaks Inside the House
We trace a hidden supply leak to its source, open only what we need to, and replace the damaged section with new pipe.
Learn more →Urgent Calls Around the Clock
We answer urgent calls around the clock, and water that is actively leaking goes ahead of routine work.
Learn more →Repairs and leak detection are on our pipe repair page, or browse all common problems.
Why Tacoma Homeowners Call Royal Flush
Veteran-Owned & Local
Family-operated out of Tacoma, serving Pierce and King County.
Upfront Pricing
You approve a clear price before any work starts. Estimates are free.
Licensed & Insured
Washington license #ROYALFP787R1, bonded and fully insured.
Fast Local Response
Urgent calls answered around the clock, from a crew based on Tacoma’s south side.
Flexible Payments Through Wisetack
Spread a larger repair over monthly payments, with no prepayment penalties and no hidden fees. VIP Home Protection members save 10% on every service.
Rising Water Bill Questions
Straight answers before you pick up the phone.
Yes. A toilet that leaks from the tank into the bowl runs around the clock, often silently, so a small leak becomes a large volume over a billing period. This April, a Parkland homeowner called about a high bill, and Devin rebuilt the tanks on two toilets, a repair that needs no digging and no opened walls.
Yes. In sandy or gravelly ground the water can drain away below the surface, so the first sign is often the bill rather than a puddle. That is why we test the line and narrow down the leak before we dig, then excavate only where the evidence points.
Don’t Gamble On Your Plumbing!
Veteran-owned, licensed and local. Call us or [request service](/quote) about a water bill that keeps climbing anywhere in Tacoma and the South Sound, and we will tell you what we find before any work starts.