Found a hidden water leak behind my shower tile after 8 months of high bills

My water bill jumped about $40 a month for nearly a year and I couldn't figure out why. I checked toilets, faucets, irrigation lines, everything came back fine. Finally noticed a small soft spot in the grout behind the shower head. Ripped out a few tiles and found a slow drip from a corroded copper elbow behind the wall. Fixed it myself with a push-fit coupling for $12 and the bill dropped back to normal next month. Anybody else dealt with hidden slab leaks or wall leaks that took forever to find?

2 comments

2 Comments

kai_brown2313d agoMost Upvoted

Are you really sure it was the leak though? I've had phantom water bills too, thought I fixed a drip and the numbers stayed high for another few months. Sometimes the water company just estimates and then hits you with a big catch-up charge, it's not always the plumbing.

torres.leo13d ago

Start with shutting off the main valve and watching the meter. If it's still spinning like a top while everything's off, that's a leak, not an estimate. Water companies do pull that catch-up nonsense, but a leak will show clear as day on the meter test. Did you check yours before and after fixing the drip?