The simple method to check whether you have a leaking toilet without realising it - and save hundreds of pounds

Daily Mail​

24-04-2025

With the cost-of-living crisis still looming, many Britons are looking to save money where possible.
Because of this, a money saving expert has revealed a savvy trick to reveal whether you have a leaking toilet, which could be wasting hundreds of pounds on water bills a year.
Talking in ITV 's show, Rising Bills & Pension Fears: How to Save Money, which airs at 8:30pm tonight, Jo Orbson, Head of Policy and Research at Waterwise, explored the problem.
'A leaky loo can waste up to 400 litres of water a day, which is like having another few people living in your house,' she said.
However, it might not be immediately obvious that a toilet is leaking, and so she shared a simple method to check.
Orbson said: 'All you need is your loo roll, and then pop a piece of toilet paper on the back, if you come back and it's soggy, you've got a leaky loo.'
A professional plumber will likely find the issue an easy fix or those not not afraid of DIY can find a solution online.
Elsewhere, the expert also warned of the importance of shutting the tap when brushing your teeth.
She said, 'If you've got a family of four and you leave the tap running when you brush your teeth, you can use a whole bath full of water a day.'
Waterwise expert Orbson added, 'So it's a really quick, easy way to make sure you save water.'
It comes as water bills are set to rise by more than a quarter next year - adding an average of £123 to the average annual bill.
The price increases - the largest in three decades - have been branded as 'daylight robbery' by campaigners after suppliers paid out billions to their shareholders while polluting rivers.
The hike, confirmed by industry body Water UK, will take the average water and wastewater bill from £480 to £603 for the next year alone.
But millions will face even steeper rises.
Southern Water customers will be hit with a 47 per cent increase, at Hafren Dyfrdwy, South West Water and Bournemouth Water bills will rise by 32 per cent, at Thames Water by 31 per cent and at Yorkshire Water by 29 per cent.
Householders with Southern Water will see their bill go up to £703.The increases are even higher than those announced by Ofwat just before Christmas as they include inflation.
Water UK said firms would invest around £20 billion from April 2025 to March 2026, the highest ever level of expenditure in a single year, and the first in a five-year programme of investment worth £104 billion up to 2030.
It comes after Martin Lewis issued some cash-saving advice to people with three or more bedrooms - insisting they could pocket £500 a year.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 5 Live Podcast with Adrian Chiles, the money-saving expert, 52, laid out what he described as the 'three bedroom rule', promising people they could save on their bills by monitoring one key amenity.
He said anyone who had three bedrooms in their home should be asking how many people live there compared to the number of rooms.
If the number of people living in the home was equal to or less than the number of bedrooms, Martin said there was a good chance that your bills could be slashed.
However, he prefaced the 'rule' by explaining that it would only be applicable to people who live in England and Wales - since it works differently in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
'The first question you ask yourself is, "Do you have more or the same number of bedrooms in your property than people?"' Martin said.
If the house contains fewer residents than the number of bedrooms, the money-saving expert says you may be overpaying on your water bill.
Martin said if this is the case, people ought to consider having a water meter installed rather than simply paying the standard annual fee.
He said this was because 'the bill is based on the value of your property' - and the bigger the property, the bigger the bill, even if the usage itself is actually low.
Since fewer people living in a property would reduce the amount of water used, people may be paying over the odds for a higher predicted usage.