Best Service, a leading plumbing company in Orange County, California, offers some possible fixes to common toilet problems, so when you encounter a leaking toilet on the job, or yours at home starts acting funny, you don’t necessarily have to call a plumber.
“Toilet plumbing operates on pretty simple principles,” says Brian Vardiman, owner of Best Service. “Sometimes the problems that occur most often are easy to diagnose, and if you’re the slightest bit handy, you can take care of the issue yourself.”
Vardiman presents four of the most common toilet plumbing problems, besides a basic clog, and some possible quick solutions.
- The toilet runs constantly. Even after the tank has filled, the water continues to run. This is an irritating and expensive problem. Check the flush valve to make sure the chain isn’t kinked. If this isn’t the problem, check the float ball. The height or position may need to be adjusted. About half of the ball should be under water, and it should move freely.
- Water trickles into the bowl. You will usually notice this at night when it is quiet. The water will trickle, and then the float will re-engage and refill the tank. This cycle will repeat itself over and over again. The wasted water can add up to hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water over time. The problem is usually the toilet flapper, but on rare occasions it can be the toilet valve.
- Water is leaking from underneath the toilet. This does not necessarily mean the toilet is leaking at the base. Make sure you don’t have another type of leak before you pursue this. A toilet leaking at the base will only occur when the toilet is flushed. One possible fix is to tighten the bolts that hold the toilet to the floor. The second is to replace the wax ring between the bottom of the toilet and the toilet flange.
- The toilet won’t flush completely. It’s possible that the chain doesn’t open the flush valve. If the chain has come loose from the handle arm, reconnect it. If it’s broken, it may need replacing. If this doesn’t work, the float ball may be set too low. In most toilets, the water level should be within an inch of the overflow pipe.
However, this advice comes with a grain of salt.
“Not all toilet problems are suitable for do-it-yourselfers,” said Vardiman. “In many situations, calling a professional plumber should be your first move, especially if you aren’t comfortable trying to fix the problem yourself. But knowing how toilets and plumbing works, and identifying common problems, can help keep things moving if you can’t get a professional to the house immediately.”
About Best Service
Located in Yorba Linda, California, Best Service has been providing services to Orange County and the surrounding areas since 2003. For more information on Best Service, visit www.callbest.net.
I really like that you put in a bit here about toilet running constantly. I’ll be honest and admit that is a problem that my toilet has. Maybe I’ll have to take your tips to heart and see if I can fix it. If I can’t, how would you suggest finding a good plumber to help me out?
I didn’t realize that there were so many signs of plumbing problems. I have experienced a few of the mentioned toilet problems in the past and I have debated the need for a plumber or not. Like you explain, it is important to stop the problem before it grows bigger and becomes more serious. I fell the need to talk to a plumber about what is going on with the toilets in my house. Thanks for the help.
I’m glad that you talked about how a toilet flushing slowly can be bad for your plumbing. A lot of people think that they just have a slow toilet. However, if you are smart, you will try to get plumbing work done as soon as your toilet starts to slow down. Do you have any other tips about taking care of your plumbing?
My husband has already tried to tighten the bolts at the bottom of the toilet bowl, and it still leaks. Luckily, it’s not spewing out water though. I’ll have to see if I can get a hold of a plumber to come in and take a look at it. We really need this fixed before my family comes into town next week.
My wife and I have had similar issues with our toilet lately. Water has been trickling into the bowl long after it’s been flushed and we have no idea what to do. It worries me that it can waste hundred of gallons of water and rack up the water bill. We’ll have to check the flapper and valve like you mentioned. Thanks for the help!
Thanks for going over some helpful tips in regard to plumbing. It’s interesting that wasted water from trickling water could lead to thousands of gallons of water. Definitely seems worthwhile to be able to identify these problems to get them fixed immediately, especially to make sure that you are conserving water and using only what you need.
Thanks for sharing these valuable tips! I’ve been trying to figure out why my toilet runs constantly, so I’m glad that I stumbled upon your site. I followed your recommendations, and sure enough, my chain was kinked. I fixed that problem, and now my toilet runs much more easily. For more complicated tasks, though, I think I may be better off just hiring a plumber — it would save me a lot of time! Great article!
It takes a lot to hire a good plumber and this article makes it to hiring a good one. I wish I would use this last year when I was stressing hours trying to find a good one.
I like that you recommended checking the flush valve if your toilet keeps running. I’ll have to tell my sister about this later today when I get home. She will be happy to hear the advice because she isn’t quite sure what to do with her toilet. Thankfully I found this post, because these tips will make a great deal of difference!
Well said “Not all toilet problems are suitable for do-it-yourselfers”. Insted wasting time in such stuff which cannot be Handel by you, go for hiring a worth service provider. Which will save your time as well as efforts.
Informatory stuff about the common toilet plumbing problems. Great stuff to read. keep posting!
Hi
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Thanks
Thank you so much buddy’s. I face these problems. Your tips help me lot. Hope, These 4 tips also help people as like me. I have another problem with my tankless water heater. Sometimes its flow rates are falling down. So, how can I solve this?
Thanks for these tips for a toilet. I actually didn’t know that water trickling in the toilet could waste a lot of water as well as cost money. If that’s the case, it sounds important to really monitor or check the water often so anything strange or unusual can be looked at.