Does your toilet keep running? Weird gurgling noise emitting from your toilet bowl? From water leakage to unusual noises, toilets can do all sorts of frustrating things.
Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are many toilet problems you can solve yourself. Here, the specialists at Farris Heating & Air will go over some of the most frequent 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 Does My Toilet Always Run?
If your toilet is constantly running, it is a situation you should correct 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 directs excess water from the tank into your toilet bowl so the water level in your tank does not get too high and overflow the top of the tank. Occasionally, the trouble is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube has become detached. If that’s the situation, you should be able to 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 factor causing a toilet to run could be the flapper--which functions as a plug in the bottom of your tank—is damaged and no longer forms the tight seal necessary to hold water in the tank. This enables water to seep through or around the damaged flapper and leak out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a running toilet is caused by something amiss with your toilet float, which is a floating device that determines 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 excess water will go in your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Does My Toilet Make a Gurgling Sound?
A gurgling toilet is commonly caused by a partial clog in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or something blocking your sewage vent. If the cause of the issue 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 does not have any effect, you can check where your sewage vent exits your home to confirm it is not blocked by debris that would restrict 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 Farris Heating & Air to evaluate the problem. As the experienced plumber in Bartlesville, Farris Heating & Air 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 carries 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 likely the problem can be found in the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain in a toilet tank that is hooked 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 figure out why your toilet is hard to flush is to lift up the lid, peek inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process ought to 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 permits the water to flow out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet won’t flush because the chain is snagged on something in the tank, which stops the chain from lifting up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or gets disconnected 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. There also could be something awry with the handle.
5. What Is Causing My Toilet To Leak?
A dripping toilet can be a costly scenario, potentially leading to water damage in and around your bathroom. Many times, a leaky toilet is caused by a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it may be a failure in 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 broken toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it attaches to the floor. Often, these issues are best fixed by an expert plumber.
6. Why Is My Toilet Not Filling with Water?
A toilet that isn't filling with water often suggests a problem with the fill valve, which fills the tank in the back of your toilet with water. If the tube is damaged or is clogged 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 risen to the correct level. The fill valve does this 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 rises to the proper level. Or, correcting a toilet not filling with water may require adjusting or changing the fill valve.