How to Handle Your Leaking Toilet Situation

Plumbing issues related to your toilet are some of the most unfortunate of all plumbing issues. If your toilet is leaking, it’s important that the issue is dealt with as soon as possible, before it causes even greater problems that can lead to a replacement toilet being needed.

The experts at Hall’s Plumbing have put together some helpful information about the possible causes of toilet leaking and how you can maintain your toilet in order to avoid continued problems in the future.

Repair or Replace Your Toilet Flapper

The most common culprit in cases of toilets leaking is a bad toilet flapper. Depending on what type of flapper your toilet uses, there are different issues it could be experiencing that will cause water to run continuously into the bowl.

If you have a rubber cap flapper (the most commonly used flappers today), it may experience issues sitting back on the overflow tube after flushing if the chain that attaches it to the flush lever is either too long or too short.

If your toilet uses a tank ball flapper, you may also experience issues with an improperly sized chain. Tank ball flappers are far more vulnerable than caps, so they may also experience other problems.

Seat disk flappers can have a number of issues as well, and since they are disproportionately large compared to the size of the toilet bowl, they can be more difficult to repair.

Is Your Toilet Running?

This isn’t a prank call, we promise! There are many reasons why your toilet might run water continuously, besides having a broken toilet flapper. One of those reasons is that your tank water level is too high.

The water in your tank should sit at about an inch below the top of the overflow tube. If it is too high, the water will spill into the overflow tube, causing the fill valve not to shut off, which leads to the running.

Perhaps your fill valve or fill tube is to blame for your running toilet. The fill tube is a small flexible tube that connects the fill valve to the overflow tube and supplies water for the toilet to flush. If the fill tube becomes dislodged from either the fill valve or overflow tube, it can cause a slew of problems.

Keep Your Toilet Working Properly With Good Toilet Maintenance

Here are a few simple tips to help you keep your toilet functioning at its best:

1. Only flush put toilet paper and human waste down your toilet.
2. Regularly clean your toilet bowl and tank to avoid mold and mildew that can eat away at the porcelain.
3. Address issues such as running or leaking immediately to prevent them from causing even more problems.
4. If you notice any cracking or deterioration of the caulking around the foot of your toilet, recaulk it as soon as possible to avoid water damage.

Hall’s Plumbing is Woodland’s favorite toilet plumbing company! Give us a call today at (530) 290-1922 to get help with your ongoing leaking toilet problem. Have more toilet care tips you’d like to share? Leave them in our comments section below!