Pool water evaporation or leaky toilets?

[DBaty]

We purchased a home and have not moved in yet. I received our first month's water bill and I was surprised by our potable water usage was 420 gallons for the month. No water is being used other than automatic refill of the pool and flushing toilets once a week by home watch service. Is it reasonable to assume this usage is to replace evaporated water in my pool or is it an indication of a plumbing leak?

[dewilson58]

I vote for leak.

[Kenswing]

I keep the auto fill to our pool shut off. That way I can see if I have a leak. We’ve had some very hot windy days with low humidity over the past few weeks. Evaporation is certainly at least part of your issue.

Since this was also your first water bill I would wait and see if it’s just a one time thing.

[retiredguy123]

Toilet leaks are sometimes difficult to detect because they are often intermittent. One thing you can do is to put some food dye in the tank and see if the dye migrates to the bowl over a period of several hours.

[MrFlorida]

Very low humidity here for the last few months, so maybe your pool water is evaporating.

[Toymeister]

It is your pool. It is consistent with our real life experience.

[daniel200]

420 gallons … thats 14 gallons per day. Or a little more than ½ gallon per hour. I think if it was the toilet you could see a constant ripple of water in the toilet bowl. As some one mentioned, a little food coloring in the bowl could quickly confirm if this is the toilet or not

According to this website a pool in central florida can expect to lose up to ¼ inch of water per day from evaporation. Using that data a 10 x 10 foot pool would lose up to 15 gallons per day … so if your pool is larger than 100 square feet, it might be just evaporation

http://osceolaaquaticsinc.com/is-your-pool-water-evaporating-or-is-it-leaking/

[rjm1cc]

turn off water to home leave sprinkler system on. Then see if toilets drain. Can also just turn off water to the toilet.