Mould behind kitchen units

[JohnD]

The water meter has a glass window where you take the meter readings. There is an air bubble you can see through this window. All the time water is flowing, the bubble moves, even if the flow is so small that you can't see the meter dials turn.

If you have a water leak, for example in the kitchen or under the floor, the bubble will move even when all the taps are off and you are not using any water. So the bubble is a good way to identify a leak. A leak is a potential cause of damp in your home.

It sounds like your bathroom fan has a humidity sensor and comes on when it detects moisture.

BTW if you have wet washing, put it in the bathroom to dry. The fan will extract the water vapour rather than having it float around your house and cause condensation.

 

[tigsmom]

Thanks, I will do that. When the weather improves we will crawl under the hedge and take a look at the meter too! Last year they upgraded us to a 'smart meter' so we no longer need to take readings but they also put our direct debit up. I assumed that this was because the kids are no longer babies and use more water in showers and baths but I suppose there's a chance there could be a leek. We've never found an indoor stop cock despite having all the ground floor up 7 years ago. We had secondary flooding in the big storm but the whole house was dried out, replastered and insulated where possible. The damp has just started to return. It could be down to the rising water table. We're on clay soil.