Is your toilet running periodically or constantly? Read this before you call a plumber. You can repair it yourself and save when you know what to look for.
If your leaky toilet problem is not about water on your floor, but water leaking into the bowl, you can definitely take care of this yourself. The usual symptom of this problem is that you hear water running periodically as your toilet tank refills long after the last flush, or the water is running constantly.
The water wasted by a leaking toilet can make your water bill shoot up noticeably, so you need to tackle it right away.
Adjusting the Water Level
First, take the top off your toilet tank, and look for the overflow tube. If the water level gets too high in the tank, it flows over the top of the overflow tube and drains into your toilet bowl.
If you hear water running and see water overflowing into this tube, the float is not working to shut off the water when the tank is full. Lift up on the float to see if this shuts off the water. If it doesn’t, the refill assembly needs to be replaced. (You'll find instructions in this topic in the article "Replacing a Toilet Fill Valve.")
If lifting the float shuts off the water, you’ll need to adjust the float so it shuts off the water at a lower water level. Typically, the float is either a plastic ball the size of a softball on the end of a metal rod (see Figure 1 below), or a plastic cylinder that slides up and down a plastic shaft (see Figure 2 below).
To adjust the plastic-ball type, you can either turn the adjusting screw at the end of the rod opposite the float, or you can actually bend the rod slightly downward. Of course, bending the rod is not recommended, but it works.
To adjust the cylindrical-float type, look for the thin metal rod connecting the float to a valve-arm. The metal rod has an adjusting clip you can pinch allowing you to move the float further down in the water.
After making an adjustment to the float, flush your toilet and observe the tank as it refills. The valve should shut off when the water is about ¼ inch below the top of the overflow tube. Readjust the float if needed.
Cleaning or Replacing the “Flapper”
If the problem is not water flowing over the overflow tube, it may be leaking through the stopper at the bottom of the tank. The stopper at the bottom is called a “flapper.”
When the flapper is leaking, the water level in the tank will go down very slowly until the float drops enough to start refilling the tank.
If this is happening, the flapper may not be sealing well because of (1) an improperly adjusted pull-chain, (2) an obstruction or built-up mineral deposits from the water, or (3) a deteriorated flapper.
To correct this, turn off the water supply to your toilet (using the valve handle on the wall or floor behind the toilet), and flush to empty the tank.
First, operate the flush handle and observe the chain that pulls up on the flapper. When you release the handle allowing the flapper to fall back to its closed position, you should see a little slack in the chain and it shouldn’t be getting hung up on anything to prevent the flapper from sealing completely. If this is the problem adjust the chain.
Also, lift up on the flapper and observe the surfaces that form the seal, looking for any mineral deposits. Clean these surfaces gently with water and a scrubbing sponge.
The flapper could also be old and the rubber deteriorating. If the rubber is cracked, brittle, or warped, remove the flapper and buy a replacement from your hardware store.
If the flapper looks in good condition, but it’s still leaking after cleaning it and adjusting the chain, replace it anyway.
Ninety percent of the time, these steps will correct your problem. If not, the seal at the bottom of your toilet tank may be the problem and it may be time to just get a new toilet.
