The problem: knowing whether there is a leak at all
Most signs of a slab leak are indirect. A bill, a warm spot or a sound can all have other explanations. The meter is more direct. It counts water passing from the supply into your property, and if it counts water when every fixture is off, that water is going somewhere.
The check does not say where the leak is, and it does not prove that it is under the slab. What it does is separate the cases where something is leaking from the cases where nothing is, and it gives the technician a useful first fact when you call.
How to do it
Choose a time when you can keep water use to zero for a few minutes. Late evening or early morning works for most households. Tell everyone in the home so nobody flushes or runs a tap partway through.
Turn everything off. Taps, showers, the dishwasher, the washing machine and the ice maker. Do not flush any toilet. If you have an irrigation timer, switch it to off, and note if a pool auto-fill is present.
Find the meter. It is usually in a ground-level box near the street or the front of the property, sometimes in a utility area. In some condos it is inside a utility closet or elsewhere in the building. Lift the lid carefully and watch for insects.
Read the leak indicator. Many meters have a small triangle, star or wheel that turns with even slow flow. Clean the cover with a cloth if it is dirty.
Watch for several minutes. If the indicator is still, wait a little longer, since very small leaks can be slow. If it moves, note the time and take a photo.
Write down the register reading. Record the numbers, wait fifteen to thirty minutes with everything still off and read again. A change means water passed through.
We help you tell the difference.
Pool or Slab? Talk to a Leak TechWhat the result means
If the indicator does not move and the register does not change, there is probably no continuous leak on the property at that moment. Some leaks are intermittent, such as a toilet that refills occasionally, and a short test can miss them. If other signs persist, repeat the test at a different time.
If the indicator moves or the register changes, water is leaving the meter and going somewhere. The leak could be under the slab, but it could also be an irrigation line, a pool, an outdoor tap or a toilet running on. A technician sorts those out by isolating parts of the system. See the high water bill page for how this fits with the bill.
Narrowing it down yourself
You can do one more safe thing before calling. Check each toilet for a fill valve that does not shut off, and look at outdoor taps and hose bibs for a drip. Switch off the irrigation controller. If you can reach the main shutoff safely, closing it and watching the meter again tells you whether anything is passing beyond the shutoff.
If the meter stops moving when the main is closed, the flow is in the house supply side. If the meter still moves with the main closed, the shutoff may not be sealing, and you should mention it when you call. The same applies in a condo, where the meter and shutoff arrangement depends on the building, so ask your manager how yours is set up.
Straight answers about your result.
Speak With Someone LocalWhy the check matters in Florida
Florida has a large seasonal population and many homes that sit empty for months. A reading at the start and end of an absence is one of the best protections against a leak that runs unnoticed. Photograph the meter on leaving, and compare it on return. The full routine is on the before-you-leave checklist.
Pools and irrigation are also common here and are frequent causes of unexplained flow. That is why a moving meter is a reason to call, not a diagnosis. A technician separates a house leak from an outdoor one. See pool leak or slab leak.
What not to do
Please do not dig up the line between the meter and the house, do not cut or tamper with the meter and do not try to pressure test the plumbing. The meter belongs to your water provider, and tampering with it can cause trouble. Simply read it.
If water is surfacing near the meter or in the yard, keep clear, close the main if it is safe and call. If a meter box is full of water, do not reach in without checking that nothing electrical is nearby.
Bring your meter photo if you have one.
Water Bill Tripled While You Were Away? Call UsWhat happens after a moving meter
The technician takes your result as the starting point. They isolate the supply lines, pressure test to see whether the house plumbing holds and then use acoustic listening and thermal imaging to find the position if it does not. If the pressure holds, the leak is outside the house lines, and they will tell you so.
Either answer is useful. See slab leak detection for the full sequence.
After the check
Keep a note of the date, time and result. If you repeat the test after a repair, the indicator should be still with everything off. If it is not, tell the technician.
Many owners make the meter check a habit after any big change, such as a long absence, a repair or an unexplained bill.
Recording your result
Write down the date, the time and what you saw on the dial or the low-flow indicator. Note whether the irrigation and any ice maker or softener were off. The more precisely you describe the test, the more useful it is to the technician.
Take a photo of the dial at the start and again at the end. It takes seconds.
When to repeat the check
If the first test is unclear, repeat it later with the house quiet, for example early in the morning. Some leaks are small and need a longer wait to show. Try a second time over an hour.
A dial that moves in one test and not in another can point to an appliance cycling, not a leak. Say so when you call.