How do I know if I have a leak in or around my home?

The meter test is the one that settles it. Turn everything off — taps, washing machine, dishwasher, and don't flush anything — then take a meter reading, leave it an hour or two, and read it again. A meter that has moved with nothing running means water is escaping between the meter and your taps.

Not everything obvious is a leak, and not every leak is obvious. A hidden one under a floor or behind a wall can run for months, showing up only as a bill you can't explain, or a floorboard that has started to feel spongy underfoot.

One specific thing worth ruling out: the loo. A cistern quietly running into the pan is the single most common household leak, it makes no mess, and it can waste a startling amount of water without anyone noticing.

Two things worth knowing before you ring anyone. First, where the responsibility sits: United Utilities look after the main in the road, but the supply pipe from your boundary into the house is yours, and so is everything inside it. Second, if you're metered, United Utilities run a leak allowance — but it's normally a one-off for a first claim at the address, and they expect the leak to be repaired within about 30 days of it being found. So a leak you sit on isn't just wasting water; it can quietly cost you the allowance too.