Over the last couple of years my home has been suffering from a low water pressure issue and we have had numerous plumbers and handy men in to fix this with no luck. The water bill has stayed at a constant so there was nothing to be alarmed so no one was looking for any leaks.
Two nights ago my daughter heard the toilet running in the outside storage room which is a converted servants quarters. This is a section of the house that is never used and will eventually be the room where the solar panel control boards will be set up.
I am sure many of you that own properties know that the constant upkeep of the property maintenance is an endless task that never ends. We had my handyman come out last night and fix the toilet which was a faulty stop cock so basically the toilet was constantly filling itself with thee excess water running down the overflow. This is as bad as a burst pipe because it is a hidden cost unless you find it.
The result is the water pressure is back to normal and sadly this tells us this has been going on for years and has not just happened over night. The problem is unless you spent anytime in that room which no one does you would never know there was a problem due to hardly any sound being made by the running water.
I hate to know how much this has cost over the years and it must run into the thousands so I will be checking the water bill at the end of next month to compare. There is no use crying over spilt milk and the positive news is that this has been found and fixed and you just have to move on. If I had to guess now knowing how much this has cost I would guess in the region of $3-$5K because this has been going on longer than anyone can imagine and personally believe it could be as long as 3-4 years and not just around the two year mark.
We all look for savings on our monthly expenditure and what is annoying is having a hidden one that you would never know about right under your nose. It is great having a large house, but not so great when you have areas you never visit due to no need. Most houses that had servants quarters with a bathroom have been turned into flatlets or outside offices because very few homes today have live in domestic staff. This was a feature you would find in most properties built in the pre 1990 era and not something you would consider building today. Times have definitely changed due to the rise in wages making having a domestic worker only affordable to those with the financial means.