Does your toilet refuse to stop running? Strange gurgling noise coming from your toilet bowl? From water leaks to unusual noises, toilets can do all sorts of bizarre things.
Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are lots of toilet dilemmas you can correct on your own. Here, the professionals at Contra Costa Heating & AC 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 an issue you should fix because it's in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A typical cause of a running toilet is something amiss with the overflow tube. Located in the tank in the back of your toilet, an overflow tube allows extra water to drain 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. Sometimes, the problem 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 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 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. Not having a good seal allows water to flow out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
At times, a running toilet is caused by something amiss 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 the appropriate height. If your float is set too high, this permits the water level to rise too high, and the unwanted water will go in your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Does My Toilet Keep Gurgling?
A gurgling toilet is usually caused by a partial clog in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or a blockage in your sewage vent. If the problem 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 doesn’t work, you can check 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, it would be a good idea to contact a professional such an expert from Contra Costa Heating & AC to evaluate the problem. As the go-to plumber in The Bay Area, Contra Costa Heating & AC will find out if the issue was caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines transporting toilet water out of your home or the mainline that carries waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Won't My Toilet Flush?
If your toilet is hard to flush, it's probable that the problem is with the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain within a toilet tank that is affixed 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 best way to figure out why your toilet is hard to flush is to take off the lid, look inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process ought to 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 snagged on something in the tank, which keeps the chain from pulling up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or somehow comes unhooked from either the handle or the flapper. If this happens, release the caught chain or reach in and shorten it to the appropriate length.
Occasionally flappers can get stuck when they get old or become worn out. There also may be something awry with the handle.
5. What Is Causing My Toilet To Leak?
A dripping toilet can be a costly problem, potentially producing water damage in and around your bathroom. Often, a leaky toilet is due to 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 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 sits on the floor. Most of these issues are best fixed by a certified 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 potentially could 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 letting 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 is allowed to reach the proper level. Or, repairing a toilet not filling with water could require adjusting or changing the fill valve.
