Does your toilet keep running? Strange gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leakage to odd noises, toilets can do all sorts of bizarre things.
Fortunately, with a little troubleshooting, there are lots of toilet issues you can fix yourself. Here, the specialists at 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning will go over some of the most common toilet problems, what they mean and whether it’s a plumbing issue you can fix yourself—or, if it is better to call in an expert.
1. Why Does My Toilet Always Run?
If your toilet is constantly running, it is something you should fix because it's in all likelihood also costing you money on your water bill.
A common reason for a running toilet is something amiss with the overflow tube. Found 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 doesn't get too high and leak all over your floor. Occasionally, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube has become detached. If that’s the scenario, you most likely can just reach into the tank and reattach them. It also could be your toilet is running because the overflow tube is isn't tall enough for the water level and needs to be replaced by one that is the correct height.
Another factor causing a toilet to run could be the flapper--which serves as a plug in the bottom of your tank—is malfunctioning and no longer forms the tight seal required to hold water in the tank. This enables water to seep through or around the damaged flapper and flow out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
At times, a running toilet is caused by something wrong 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 lets the water level to rise too high, and the extra water will go in your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Does My Toilet Keep Gurgling?
A gurgling toilet is often caused by a partial obstruction in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or a blockage in your sewage vent. If the problem is a clog in your toilet, you can try to fix this by using a plunger or drain snake to remove the clog. If this doesn’t work, you can examine where your sewage vent exits your home to make sure it is not blocked by debris that would block air flow.
If these efforts don’t fix your gurgling toilet, you should phone a professional such an expert from 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning to evaluate the problem. As the trusted plumber in Mission Viejo, 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning will find out if the issue was caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines transporting toilet water out of your home or the mainline that removes waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Won't My Toilet Flush?
If you can’t flush your toilet, it's probable that the problem lies the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain within the toilet tank that is hooked to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is attached to the flapper, which serves as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The quickest way to figure out why your toilet is challenging to flush is to lift up the lid, look inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process should work anytime you flush a toilet: you push down the handle, which pulls up the chain, then the chain pulls the flapper up and that allows the water to whoosh out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet doesn't flush because the chain is stuck on something within the tank, which stops the chain from pulling up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or somehow comes unhooked from either the handle or the flapper. If this happens, unhook the caught chain or reach in and change it to the appropriate length.
At times flappers can get stuck when they get old or become worn out. Or, there may be something amiss with the handle.
5. What Is Causing My Toilet To Leak?
A leaky toilet can be a costly scenario, potentially causing water damage in and around your bathroom. Often, a leaky toilet is due to a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it is often because there is a malfunction in the toilet float.
Cracked gaskets around the connections on the underside of the tank also can allow water to leak out of the toilet, as can a weakened toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it connects to the floor. The majority of these issues are best fixed by a professional plumber.
6. Why Is My Toilet Not Filling with Water?
A toilet that won't fill with water in many cases suggests a problem with the fill valve, which is what fills your toilet tank with water. If the tube is damaged or is blocked by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it may not be allowing water into the tank.
Another typical cause for your toilet not filling with water is something wrong with the float, which is a device that triggers the fill valve to stop allowing water into the tank when the water has risen to the correct level. The fill valve performs this function when the water level lifts the float to a preset height. It could be that the float/float assembly needs adjustment so that the water can attain the proper level. Or, solving the problem of a toilet not filling with water could require adjusting or replacing the fill valve.