Does your toilet keep running? Strange gurgling noise coming from your toilet bowl? From water leaks to unusual noises, toilets can do all sorts of strange things.
Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are numerous toilet dilemmas you can correct on your own. Here, the professionals at Childress Heating & AC will go over some of the most frequent toilet problems, what they mean and whether it’s a situation 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 won’t stop running, it is a situation you should repair because it’s in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A common reason for a running toilet is something incorrect with the overflow tube. Located in the tank in the back of your toilet, an overflow tube removes extra water from the tank into your toilet bowl so the water level in your tank won’t get too high and leak all over your floor. Occasionally, the issue is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube got detached. If that’s the situation, you can reach into the tank and reattach them. It also might be your toilet is running simply because the overflow tube is isn’t tall enough for the water level and needs to be replaced by one that is taller height.
Another thing that could cause 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. Not having a good seal allows water to flow out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Occasionally 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 does 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 permits the water level to rise too high, and the excess 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 an obstruction in your sewage vent. If the cause of the issue is a clog in your toilet, you can attempt to correct 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 you’ve done these two trouble shooting tasks and the toilet is still gurgling or bubbling, you will probably want to phone a professional such an expert from Childress Heating & AC to evaluate the problem. As the experienced plumber in Fredericksburg, Childress Heating & AC will investigate whether the noise is caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines carrying toilet water out of your home or the mainline that carries waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Is It Hard to Flush My Toilet?
If your toilet is hard to flush, it’s likely the problem can be found in the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain inside the toilet tank that is hooked to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is connected to the flapper, which functions as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The easiest way to get to the bottom of why your toilet is difficult to flush is to remove the lid, look 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 enables the water to flow out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet will never flush because the chain is caught on something inside 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, release the caught chain or reach in and change it to the appropriate length.
Occasionally flappers can get stuck when they get old or become worn out. It’s also possible there may be something amiss with the handle.
5. Why Is There a Leak in My Toilet?
A dripping toilet can be a costly situation, potentially causing water damage in and around your bathroom. Many times, a leaky toilet is the result of a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it is often because there is something wrong with the toilet float.
Cracked gaskets around the connections on the underside of the tank also can let 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. Often, these issues are best fixed by a professional plumber.
6. Why Is My Toilet Not Filling with Water?
A toilet not filling with water frequently indicates a problem with the fill valve, which is what fills your toilet tank with water. If the tube is broken or is plugged by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it may not be allowing water into the tank.
Another likely cause for your toilet not filling with water is something wrong with the float, which is a device that signals the fill valve to stop bringing 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 could require adjusting or changing the fill valve.