Does your toilet keep running? Weird gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leaks to unusual noises, toilets can do all sorts of strange things.
Fortunately, with a little troubleshooting, there are many toilet dilemmas you can solve by yourself. Here, the experts at TopTec will go over some of the most prevalent toilet problems, what they mean and whether it’s something you can fix yourself—or, if it is better to call in an expert.
1. Why Won't My Toilet Stop Running?
If your toilet is constantly running, it is something you should fix because it's in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A common reason for a running toilet is something amiss with the overflow tube. Located in the tank in the back of your toilet, an overflow tube allows extra water to drain from the tank into your toilet bowl so the water level in your tank won't get too high and overflow the top of the tank. At times, the issue is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube is detached. If that’s the case, you can reach into the tank and reattach them. It also might be your toilet is running due to the fact the overflow tube is is not tall enough to maintain the correct water level and needs to be replaced by one that is taller height.
Another factor causing a toilet to run could be the flapper--which functions as a plug in the bottom of your tank—has malfunctioned and no longer forms the tight seal needed to hold water in the tank. This enables water to seep through or around the damaged flapper and escape out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
At times, a running toilet is caused by something amiss with your toilet float, which is a floating device that controls the water level in your tank. It accomplishes this by shutting off your fill valve when the water level raises the float to a preset height. If your float is set too high, this will allow the water level to rise too high, and the unwanted water will spill into your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Does My Toilet Keep Gurgling?
A gurgling toilet is usually caused by a partial obstruction in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or something blocking your sewage vent. If the problem is a clog in your toilet, you can try fixing this by using a plunger or drain snake to release the clog. If this doesn’t work, you can examine where your sewage vent exits your home to ensure it is not blocked by debris that would block air flow.
If you've done these two trouble shooting tasks and the toilet is still gurgling or bubbling, you should phone a professional such an expert from TopTec to evaluate the problem. As the experienced plumber in Libertyville, TopTec will check to see if the sound is due to a blockage in one of the drain lines carrying toilet water out of your home or the mainline that takes waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Is My Toilet Hard to Flush?
If your toilet is hard to flush, it's probable that the problem can be found in the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain inside a toilet tank that is affixed to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is attached to the flapper, which functions as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The best way to find out why your toilet is challenging to flush is to take off the lid, peek inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process ought to work when you flush a toilet: you push down the handle, which pulls up the chain, then the chain pulls the flapper up and that permits the water to whoosh out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet won’t flush because the chain is caught on something in the tank, which keeps the chain from pulling up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or becomes detached from either the handle or the flapper. If this happens, free the caught chain or reach in and change it to the appropriate length.
At times flappers can get stuck as they age or become worn out. It's also possible there may be something awry with the handle.
5. Why Is There a Leak in My Toilet?
A dripping toilet can be a costly situation, potentially leading to water damage in and around your bathroom. Usually, a leaky toilet is due to a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it may be a malfunction in the toilet float.
Cracked gaskets around the connections on the underside of the tank also can permit water to leak out of the toilet, as can a damaged toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it sits on the floor. Most of these issues are best fixed by a certified plumber.
6. Why Is There No Water in My Toilet?
A toilet not filling with water often indicates a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube is damaged or is blocked by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it potentially could not be allowing water into the tank.
Another typical cause for your toilet not filling with water is something faulty with the float, which is a device that signals the fill valve to stop letting water into the tank when the water has reached the correct level. The fill valve performs this function when the water level lifts the float to a preset height. It might be that the float/float assembly needs adjustment so that the water is allowed to reach the proper level. Or, solving the problem of a toilet not filling with water may require adjusting or exchanging the fill valve.