Is your toilet running? Strange gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leakage to odd noises, toilets can do all sorts of frustrating things.
The good thing is, with a little troubleshooting, there are numerous toilet issues you can fix yourself. Here, the specialists at Appalachian Heating will go over some of the most prevalent 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 Won't My Toilet Stop Running?
If your toilet won't stop running, it is an issue you should repair because it's in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A common culprit that causes 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 leak all over your floor. Sometimes, the issue is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube is detached. If that’s the case, you most likely can just reach into the tank and reattach them. It also could 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 functions 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 flow out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
At times, a running toilet is caused by something awry with your toilet float, which is a floating device that maintains 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 lets the water level to rise too high, and the extra 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 blockage in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or an obstruction 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 loosen the clog. If this rectify the issue, you can check where your sewage vent exits your home to confirm it is not blocked by debris that would block air flow.
If you've done these two trouble shooting tasks and the toilet is still gurgling or bubbling, you will probably want to phone a professional such an expert from Appalachian Heating to evaluate the problem. As the trusted plumber in Beckley, Appalachian Heating will find out if the issue was caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines carrying toilet water out of your home or the mainline that takes waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Is It Hard to Flush My Toilet?
If you can’t flush your toilet, it's likely the problem is with the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain inside a toilet tank that is attached to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is linked to the flapper, which acts as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The easiest way to find out why your toilet is challenging to flush is to remove the lid, look 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 enables the water to drain out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet will never flush because the chain is snagged on something in the tank, which prevents the chain from yanking 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.
Occasionally flappers can get stuck as they age or become worn out. It's also possible there may be something awry with the handle.
5. Why Is There a Leak in My Toilet?
A leaking toilet can be a costly scenario, potentially leading to water damage in and around your bathroom. Usually, a leaky toilet is due to a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it is often because there is something wrong with 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 damaged 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 Won't My Toilet Fill With Water?
A toilet that won't fill with water often traces back to a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube is broken or is blocked by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it potentially could not be allowing water into the tank.
Another typical cause for your toilet not filling with water is something amiss with the float, which is a device that prompts the fill valve to stop bringing water into the tank when the water has risen to the correct level. The fill valve gives the signal to stop 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, solving the problem of a toilet not filling with water might require adjusting or exchanging the fill valve.