Does your toilet keep running? Creepy gurgling noise coming from your toilet bowl? From water leakages to odd noises, toilets can do all sorts of bizarre things.
The good thing is, with a little troubleshooting, there are lots of toilet problems you can correct yourself. Here, the professionals at Willco Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating Inc. 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 Is My Toilet Running?
If your toilet is constantly running, it is something you should repair because it’s in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A frequent reason for a running toilet is something amiss with the overflow tube. Located 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 won’t get too high and overflow the top of the tank. Sometimes, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube is detached. If that’s the case, you should be able to reach into the tank and reattach them. It also may be your toilet is running due to the fact the overflow tube is is not tall enough to maintain the correct water level and needs to be replaced by one that is the appropriate height.
Another thing that could cause 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 escape out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes 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 achieves 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 extra water will flow into 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 obstruction in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or a blockage in your sewage vent. If the reason for the noise is a clog in your toilet, you can try to fix this by using a plunger or drain snake to release the clog. If this doesn’t work, you can look at where your sewage vent exits your home to ensure it is not blocked by debris that would block air flow.
If these efforts don’t fix your gurgling toilet, you will probably want to call a professional such an expert from Willco Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating Inc. to evaluate the problem. As the go-to plumber in Sussex County, Willco Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating Inc. will investigate whether the noise is caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines directing 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 probable that the problem lies the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain in 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 easiest way to get to the bottom of why your toilet is challenging to flush is to lift up the lid, peek inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process should work whenever 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 doesn’t flush because the chain is caught on something within the tank, which stops the chain from lifting 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, free the caught chain or reach in and shorten it to the appropriate length.
Sometimes flappers can get stuck as they age or become worn out. There also might be something wrong with the handle.
5. Why Is There a Leak in My Toilet?
A leaking toilet can be a costly situation, potentially leading to water damage in and around your bathroom. Usually, 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 may be a failure 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 broken toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it attaches to the floor. The majority of these issues are best fixed by a professional plumber.
6. Why Won’t My Toilet Fill With Water?
A toilet not filling with water frequently indicates a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube has failed or is plugged 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 signals the fill valve to stop bringing water into the tank when the water has gotten to 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 can attain the proper level. Or, repairing a toilet not filling with water might require adjusting or exchanging the fill valve.
