Household leaks

Around 30% of water lost from leakage comes from homes and gardens. If you think you may have a leak in your home, please don't panic! The good news is that it’s relatively easy to find the cause of the leak.

It's always a good idea to find any leaks as they could be causing damage to your home. If you have a meter, you're also paying for all that leaking water so you are likely to reduce your bill once the leak has been repaired.

A faulty toilet cistern could be costing you as much as £400 a year!

One of the biggest culprits for leaks in the home are modern push button toilet cisterns. Nearly 80% of all leaks reported to us last year were leaky loos!

  • LOOK into the bowl for any signs of trickling, rippling or flowing water between flushes.

  • LISTEN for the sound of water as it trickles into the bowl or a faint hissing sound as the cistern is constantly refilling.

  • TEST: wait half an hour after the last flush, dry the back of the toilet bowl before placing a piece of dry toilet paper on it. You’ll soon see the toilet paper get wet if water is trickling down into the toilet from the cistern. If you spot this is happening, you’ve probably got a leaky loo.

Click here for more advice
Water meter icon

Use your water meter to check for leaks

You can use your water meter to check your house for leaks. Click the button below to get started.

Perform a leak test

How to locate and operate your internal stop tap.

Stop taps are usually found under the kitchen or downstairs bathroom sinks.

Once you've located your stop tap, you'll need to learn how to use it. Turn the tap clockwise to shut off the water and anti-clockwise to turn it back on.

Important notice

Heavy rainfall and sewer flooding

The heavy rainfall may be causing flooding in some parts of the region.

Our teams are out working hard across the region helping our customers who have experienced sewer flooding in their homes.

If you’re experiencing flooding from a road or footpath and there is no evidence of sewage (toilet paper etc.) please report this to your local council, who are responsible for highways drainage flooding.

Please be aware that our phone lines are much busier than normal, take a look at our flooding page for further advice on what to do if you’re affected by flooding.

Heavy rainfall across the North West may be causing flooding in some parts of the region. Our teams are out working hard across the region helping our customers who have experienced sewer flooding in their homes.

Flooding advice

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