Does your toilet refuse to stop running? Creepy gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leakages to unusual noises, toilets can do all sorts of frustrating things.
The good thing is, with a little troubleshooting, there are many toilet issues you can fix by yourself. Here, the experts at LTS Plumbing & Heating Inc. will go over some of the most frequent 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 Won't My Toilet Stop Running?
If your toilet won't stop running, it is something you should correct because it's in all likelihood also costing you money on your water bill.
A typical reason for a running toilet is something amiss with the overflow tube. Found 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 won'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 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 taller height.
Another thing that could cause a toilet to run could be the flapper--which acts as a plug in the bottom of your tank—is damaged and no longer forms the tight seal required to hold water in the tank. Not having a good seal allows water to 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 does this by shutting off your fill valve when the water level raises the float to a predetermined height. If your float is set too high, this permits the water level to rise too high, and the extra water will spill into 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 problem is a clog in your toilet, you can attempt to correct this by using a plunger or drain snake to remove the clog. If this rectify the issue, 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 phone a professional such an expert from LTS Plumbing & Heating Inc. to evaluate the problem. As the go-to plumber in Shamokin and Sunbury, LTS Plumbing & 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 Won't My Toilet Flush?
If you can’t flush your toilet, it's probable that the problem can be found in 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 best way to get to the bottom of why your toilet is challenging to flush is to remove the lid, look inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process is supposed 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 enables 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 within the tank, which keeps the chain from lifting 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 change it to the appropriate length.
At times flappers can get stuck as they age or become worn out. There also might be something amiss with the handle.
5. Why Is My Toilet Leaking?
A dripping toilet can be a costly problem, potentially producing 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 could be a malfunction 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 damaged toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it connects to the floor. Most of these issues are best fixed by an expert plumber.
6. Why Is There No Water in My Toilet?
A toilet that isn't filling with water in many cases suggests a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube is broken or is clogged 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 faulty with the float, which is a device that signals the fill valve to stop allowing water into the tank when the water has reached the correct level. The fill valve performs this function when the water level lifts the float to a predetermined height. It could be that the float/float assembly needs adjustment so that the water rises to the proper level. Or, correcting a toilet not filling with water might require adjusting or changing the fill valve.