Print This List    Email to a Friend  

How to Fix a Running Toilet  
HOW TO 

Tags: Running Toilet, Toilet, Plumbing Problem, Plumbing Repair

A running toilet can be noisy and water wasting. Here is a way you can fix it!

1.	Get to know what's in your toilet. Mechanisms vary, but they all work on the same principles. Flush a couple of times while you watch in the tank with the tank lid off and notice the process
2.	Catch it in the act. If you've waited long enough after flushing and the toilet hasn't quit running, lift the tank lid and look in.
3.	Close the flapper. If the tank is not full and it is not filling, chances are that the flapper is stuck open. Reach in and close it with your hand. If it sticks repeatedly, look for the cause. Make any necessary adjustments.
4.	Adjust the valve and float. If the tank is full and the flapper is closed, and water is running over the top of the overflow tube, but the toilet hasn't stopped running, first try adjusting the valve and float. Pull up on the float with your hand. If this action stops the flow, then adjust the level of the float. If the float is around the valve post, pinch the metal clip and slide the float down on the wire. If the float is a ball on an arm, try turning the small screws on top of the valve. Sometimes, you can also bend the arm further down. No matter how you adjust the float, adjust it so the tank stops filling when the water is about an inch (2.5cm) below the top of the overflow tube.
5.	Replace the flapper. If the toilet stops filling and then starts again intermittently, you have a slow leak. Try this to be certain. Place a dye tablet or a few drops of food coloring in the tank. Your local hardware store may have free dye tablets for this purpose. If, after an hour or two without flushing, you see this dye in the bowl, you have a slow leak, a small amount of water running into the bowl. The most common cause of slow leaks is a leaky flapper. Over time, this inexpensive rubber part decays, or minerals build up on it. It's best just to replace the whole part. There are a few standard kinds. Take your old one with you to the hardware store if you want the comparison to get the right size.
6.	Occasionally, something else will cause water to drain slowly into the tank. The small rubber fill tube leading from the valve to the overflow tube and sometimes the valve itself can act as a siphon. In that case, adjust the valve height or tube height up, or adjust the water level down.

Lister: ListAfterList Wiki Contributors

Other lists of interest:

How to Clear a Clogged Drain HOW TO  (0)

How to Fix a Clogged Toilet HOW TO  (0)

How to Fix a Leaking Shower Head HOW TO  (0)

How to use a Public Restroom (Public Restroom Standard Operating Procedure - PRSOP) TrailerGuyBob AMUSING  (0)

Your Morning Poop Guide STRANGE  (0)

Rate it:
Give your rating for this list. One is the lowest score, five is the highest.

1.  2.  3.  4.  5. 

Add a Comment: Add your comments about the list. Enter your comment in the box below.