Is your toilet running? Better go catch it! It’s not an uncommon problem if your toilet doesn’t stop running after the normal flush cycle, but you may not know why your toilet is running or how to fix it. Mr. Plumber is here to help you figure out what to do if your toilet won’t stop running. Sometimes, people will wait and hope the toilet will stop or they will try and jiggle the handle in hopes something will happen. Unfortunately, neither of those is going to solve the situation. It’s important to address the problem as soon as you can because otherwise it can waste a lot of water and can cause your bill to go up.
So, What Is the Problem?
You can inspect your toilet yourself. But it’s never a bad idea to hire a professional to make sure there aren’t any other issues. Furthermore, you might need some tools and materials to be able to fully inspect your toilet and diagnose the problem. Some things you may need are rubber gloves, cutting pliers, toilet replacement parts, a replacement fill valve and a multi-bit screwdriver.
Check the Float
One of the common reasons for toilets to continue to run is water overflowing into the tank bowl from the overflow tube. If there is too much water in the tank, this can happen.
If this is the case, you’ll want to lower the float. To do this, you’ll need to loosen or tighten the screw until the float arm lowers. This will lower the water levels in the toilet.
Another way is to lower the water in the toilet with a column float attached to the fill valve. Then loosen the screw or clip, push down the float, and then tighten everything up again.
Check the Flapper
A typical toilet has a flapper that seals the water in the tank. A very common reason for toilets to continue running is that the flapper is old and needs to be replaced. Flappers that are too old, start to not seal away the water as well anymore. That can result in water constantly passing from the tank into the bowl, which causes it to continue running.
When you flush the toilet, the lift arm in the tank raises and pulls on a chain that is attached to the flapper. When it raises, it allows water to go into the toilet bowl. After enough water has been released into the bowl, the flapper re-seals the tank.
If the flapper is the cause of your running toilet, you can remove that old flapper and replace it with a new one that you can get at the hardware store.
Before you switch the flappers, it’s recommended to drain the water from the tank. You can do this by shutting off the water supply to the toilet and then flush the toilet to drain the water. To remove the old flapper, detach the chain and take the flapper off the pins from the side of the overflow tub. Then, connect the chain and attach the pins of the new flapper.
Shorten the Refill Tube
Another potential cause of your running toilet could be that the refill tube is continuing to pump water into the bowl. This can happen if the refill tube is too long or isn’t positioned properly in the overflow tube. If this is the case, you’ll need to shorten the refill tube.
To shorten the refill tube, pull the tube out of the overflow and hold it above the opening of the overflow tube. From there, trim it off and clip it to the side of the overflow tube to keep it from shifting.
Hire a Pro!
If you think your toilet is having problems, contact Mr. Plumber for your toilet repair needs. Mr. Plumber has been conducting toilet repairs in San Antonio since 2011. But the founder, Jim Parker, has been working in the plumbing industry long before that. Check out our website for any of your plumbing needs.
