Does your toilet refuse to stop running? Weird gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leakage to odd noises, toilets can do all sorts of strange things.
The good thing is, with a little troubleshooting, there are numerous toilet issues you can solve by yourself. Here, the professionals at County Line Mechanical LLC will go over some of the most common 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 Is My Toilet Running?
If your toilet won't stop running, it is an issue you should correct because it's in all likelihood also costing you money on your water bill.
A typical culprit that causes 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 doesn't get too high and spill over the top of the tank. Occasionally, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube has become detached. If that’s the situation, you can reach into the tank and reattach them. It also may be your toilet is running because 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 reason for 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 needed to hold water in the tank. This causes water to 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 does this by shutting off your fill valve when the water level raises the float to the appropriate height. If your float is set too high, this lets 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 often caused by a partial clog in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or a blockage in 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 loosen 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 you've confirmed the problem isn't a clog in the toilet or a vent obstruction, you will probably want to call a professional such an expert from County Line Mechanical LLC to evaluate the problem. As the trusted plumber in Reinholds, County Line Mechanical LLC will find out if the issue was 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 it's difficult to flush your toilet, it's likely the problem can be found in 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 connected to the flapper, which serves as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The quickest way to get to the bottom of why your toilet is difficult to flush is to take off 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 permits 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 stops the chain from pulling 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, free the caught chain or reach in and change it to the appropriate length.
At times flappers can get stuck as they get older or become worn out. There also might be something amiss with the handle.
5. Why Is There a Leak in My Toilet?
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 could be a malfunction in the toilet float.
Cracked gaskets around the connections on the underside of the tank also can permit 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 a certified plumber.
6. Why Is There No Water in My Toilet?
A toilet that won't fill with water often suggests a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube is damaged or is plugged by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it might not be allowing water into the tank.
Another common cause for your toilet not filling with water is something amiss with the float, which is a device that signals the fill valve to stop allowing water into the tank when the water has gotten to the correct level. The fill valve gives the signal to stop 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 correct level. Or, correcting a toilet not filling with water may require adjusting or changing the fill valve.