Toilet Repair 101

One of the most frequent questions that comes up in the DIY chat rooms regards a toilet that isn’t flushing correctly, is running all the time, not refilling correctly or is leaking. Each of these problems can be caused by a different function of the toilet but are all (except possibly the leak) involved in the flush mechanism inside the tank. Although this flush mechanism is one of the simplest, non-powered devices ever created by man it still mystifies us all and sends us to the phone to call a plumber more frequently than any other common household problem or turns us into “jiggling” idiots having to jiggle the handle every time you flush it to make sure it refills and is ready to flush the next time it’s used. We caution each other, our kids and our guests…”just jiggle the handle a little when you’re through”. The biggest problem with a malfunctioning toilet isn’t the aggravation it’s the wasting of water. A toilet that isn’t refilling correctly because of a flapper valve not reseating is like leaving your kitchen faucet on at a moderate rate 24 hours a day until you fix the problem.


For those of you that are completely mystified by the workings of a toilet and are losing sleep at night listening to yours running, here is a simple explanation, courtesy of Home Depot called Toilets 101.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=KH_PG_BM_PL_Toilets_101&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053


“Minor adjustments and repairs to your toilet are common tasks every homeowner will face. This guide gives you an overview of the parts in the tank of a modern toilet and advises where to start when problems occur.
Understanding the parts in your toilet makes it easier to repair your toilet yourself. Toilet tank and bowl configurations have not changed much over the years – they’ve just become more efficient. However, the valves that fill and drain the tank have undergone a number of transformations and upgrades.
If you’re having problems with an older toilet that uses more than 1.6 gallons per flush, now is a good time to consider upgrading to a newer, more efficient model. As a rule of thumb, toilets manufactured prior to 1994 use 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf) or more. The manufacturing date and gpf of your toilet is often printed or etched on the inside of the toilet tank. Upgrading to a newer toilet saves you money, conserves water and will ultimately be easier to maintain.


Fill Valve



The fill valve refills the toilet tank from the water supply after it has been emptied by a flush. Fill valves typically use either a float ball attached to a ballcock valve or float cup fill valve. Older toilets tend to use the float ball and ballcock assembly while newer toilets will have a float cup that rises and falls with the water level to turn the valve off and on.
If your toilet is constantly running, you may need to adjust or replace the fill valve. You can adjust the fill valve by adjusting the float arm or the float cup cylinder, depending on the type of fill valve in your tank. More information on how to make these adjustments is available in the Making Minor Adjustments to Your Toilet project guide.

Flush Valve



The flush valve, which installs over the flush hole and houses the flapper and overflow tube, allows water to escape the toilet tank and flow into the toilet bowl.
If water continues to seep into your toilet bowl after flushing, and replacing the flapper fails to resolve the problem, replacing the entire flush valve assembly is a quick and easy solution to this problem.

The Flapper



The flapper is part of the flush valve. When the handle of the toilet is depressed, the flapper rises to allow water from the tank to release into the toilet bowl and then closes to seal water in the tank as the fill valve replenishes the supply.
You may need to replace your flapper occasionally if you use tank tablets containing chlorine or live in an area with hard water where minerals can build up at the base of the flapper."


I hope this little brief discussion will help you to solve your toilet problems. The one issue that this article doesn’t cover is leaking and I will cover that in Friday’s blog. Watch for it and thanks to Home Depot for their content contained herein.