Everybody hates running toilets. The sight of it is disgusting, and the sound of it is thoroughly annoying. Being physically irritated by running toilets is one thing. However, they bring about a significant financial strain too. They will cost you thousands of gallons of wasted freshwater annually.
Since the pandemic broke out, most people have been DIY-ing almost everything in their homes. Of course, you wouldn’t want to risk bringing the plumber in the house at a time like this. DIY-ing something as simple as a toilet fix will also save you a great deal of money and hassle. There are countless instances in your home regularly where you feel the need to call an expert to fix the problem. If you add the costs of all these home improvement consultations and renovations, you’ll get to know that you’re almost spending half of your paycheck on them.
Due to the advent of digital media and YouTube, nothing seems impossible today, not even fixing a running toilet. You can fix almost anything by yourself in a less complicated and more lucrative manner. A plumber or technician will only partly solve your problem so that you will need to call them again after some time. Since you’ve decoded their schemes, it’s about time you start fixing your stuff. In case the overflow causes a flooded bathroom, click here to know how to resolve the problem. Read on to know what’s causing your toilet to run water consistently and how to fix it.
How Exactly Does A Toilet Work?
No matter what toilet model you have in your bathroom, they all work nearly the same way. Expose the tank by taking off the lid. Flush your toilet several times to note what happens when you pull the lever or press the button. The first thing you’ll notice is that a chain ascends; it’s called the flapper. As the chain lifts, the tank releases the water into the toilet. When you let go of the button or the lever, the flapper blocks the water outlet (hole), and water starts filling up in the tank again. The component that lets the water in the tank is called the float. Its job is to let in water and seal the tank once it’s full. An overflow tube at the center of the tank is responsible for letting go of excess water. A fault in any of these components can be the root cause of a running toilet. Now that you know how a toilet works, let’s get down to how you can fix it.
Fixing a Running Toilet in 4 Easy Steps
Examine The Fill Tube
The bowl will not fill up if the fill tube appears to get disconnected from the fill valve. Consequently, your toilet will either not flush or have trouble flushing. Reconnect the fill tube and firmly fix it to prevent disconnection again. Ensure that it isn’t connected too close to the overflow tube. It should at least be an inch higher when the water releases into the overflow tube. Flush one or two times to check if it’s working correctly or not.
Check The Float
The float adjusts the water inflow and outflow in your toilet’s tank. If the float is descended, the water will make its way into the toilet gradually while flushing. If the float is elevated, the water will make its way into the overflow tube. Consequently, you’ll have a running toilet. To fix this, mark a position inside the tank to test the level of the overflow tube. Flush your toilet to check where the water level ends up near your marked spot. Adjust the float’s height per the marked spot and flush to check it each time until you get it right.
Look Into The Chain’s Length
As mentioned earlier, a chain (aka the flapper) pulls up to depart water when you press the flush button. The same chain covers the water outlet to stop flushing and fill up the tank again. If the chain is too small or doesn’t sit on the hole properly, the water won’t stop running. If the chain is too long, it won’t get pulled when you push the button making it impossible to flush. Therefore, you’ll need to replace the chain.
Get A New Flapper
If nothing from the tricks mentioned above works for your toilet, replace the flapper. All you need to do is seal the water inlet and run a little errand to the hardware store to buy a new flapper. Don’t forget to take the existing flapper along to purchase the same model. Once you find the perfect match, use the same technique you used to take out the flapper in reverse to fit it back. Each model of toilet has a different flapper that works differently in the tank.
The Bottom Line
Fixing your toilet might seem disgusting at first, but you’ll get used to it when you find out that it’s pretty simple and cost-effective. Firstly, research and understand how a toilet works to propose theories to fix it. Flush your toilet several times to find the root cause of the problem. Examine whether the fill tube is connected firmly and whether the float is in the correct position. Lastly, check the chain’s height. If nothing works, replace the flapper with a new one.
