Trick for Reading Scratched Up Water Meters

[MIflyer]

Ya'll ever have a problem reading a below ground water meter because the cover glass is badly scratched up? I had that problem with the water meter at a house our family owns and rents out. No matter how you tried to clean the cover glass, it was too badly scratched to read.

But I found that if I cleaned all the dirt off the glass and applied a coating of the hand sanitizer they sell at the Dollar Tree stores, all becomes crystal clear. The problem is that the scratched glass is scattering the light. Applying that gel over the top temporarily fixes the problem.

 

[GreenKnight121]

What also works is just dropping a little water on it, after first using a damp stick with a rag tied to remove dust/spider webs/mud. Read fast, before it dries off.

I used to work maintenance at a mobile home park, and had to read ~190 below-ground water meters every month (plus some 40+ ones located under the mobile behind the skirting). Another guy read the other 200+ below-ground water meters (sometimes we switched off, just to have it less boring).