Repair Running Toilet

Leaky toilets are annoying.A lot of water is wasted every year from running toilets. This information will help you solve the problem so you're not flushing your hard earned cash down the drain.

Here are some quick and simpleways to stop the leak.

Remember to always close the water shut off valve to your toilet before you attempt any repairs.

Checking For Leaks

First, listen to your toilet. Does it sound like it's running? If so, place a couple of drops of food coloring in the tank.

Wait about 15-20 minutes, then check the toilet bowl to see if the water changed color. If it has, the flap in the tank is letting water into the bowl and should be replaced.

Make sure all the taps in the house are turned off and check to see if your water meter is turning. ( It is usually located in the furnace room, where the water enters the house )

If it is, you'll have to explore further and see where the water is going. There may be more than a leaky toilet in the house.

Fixing the Leak

1) Check to see if the rubber flapper in the toilet tank is worn out. This is an inexpensive easy fix and a lot of the time, this will solve the problem right away.

2) If you have water leaking around the bottom of the toilet bowl, it may be that the bolts have loosened.

Pull off the plastic caps at the bottom of the toilet and use a wrench to tighten the bolts if necessary. This will reseal your wax ring. Don't tighten too much, you could crack the bottom of the tank, compounding your problems. If after moderately tightening the bolts, there is still a leak, you need to replace the wax ring.

Buy an Extra Thick wax seal if you need to replace one.

You will need to remove the tank and the bowl, pull off the old wax ring, install a new one and put the toilet back in place.

Make sure you turn the water off and drain the tank before you start this procedure. A flooded floor is never a pretty sight.

3) Check to see if water is flowing into the overflow tube in the tank. You may need to adjust the float rod so the float closes off the water sooner. You can do this by turning it ,or slightly bending it downwards.

4)The chain attached to the flapper may also need to be adjusted.

Is there a kink in it? Is it too long to keep the flapper open, so enough water can fill the bowl and create a full flush? Some trial and error with these parts may be enough to fix a running or flushing problem.

Toilet Repair
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