7 real steps to reduce the water difference in your building

1. Get everyone to submit their readings. This is the cheapest step and gives the biggest result. A shared building chat and a reminder before the deadline both help.
2. Submit readings at the same time. If the whole building reads its meters in the last days of the month, the mathematical difference shrinks.
3. Check the toilet cisterns. This is the most common hidden leak. The check takes a minute. Drop food coloring into the cistern and see if the color shows up in the bowl.
4. Inspect the basement and risers. Damp patches, condensation and rust streaks point to a leak.
5. Check the shutoff valves at the inlet. If a valve doesn’t work, the meter can’t be replaced, and the problem freezes in place for years.
6. Replace older meters. A worn meter consistently reads lower than what’s actually being used.
7. Consider remote-reading meters. They remove the human factor entirely.

Where to start. With the first two steps. They cost nothing and cut the difference immediately in many buildings.