Does your toilet refuse to stop running? Weird gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leaks to odd noises, toilets can do all sorts of frustrating things.
Fortunately, with a little troubleshooting, there are many toilet issues you can solve on your own. Here, the experts at I-Deal HVAC 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 Is My Toilet Running?
If your toilet keeps running all the time, it is a situation you should correct because it's in all likelihood also costing you money on your water bill.
A common reason for a running toilet is something wrong with the overflow tube. Positioned 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 doesn't get too high and spill over the top of the tank. At times, the issue is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube got detached. If that’s the situation, you most likely can just reach into the tank and reattach them. It also might be your toilet is running simply because the overflow tube is isn't tall enough for the 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 functions as a plug in the bottom of your tank—is damaged and no longer forms the tight seal needed to hold water in the tank. This enables water to seep through or around the damaged flapper and flow out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Occasionally 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 accomplishes 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 lets 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 usually caused by a partial obstruction in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or a blockage 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 release the clog. If this rectify the issue, you can check where your sewage vent exits your home to make sure it is not blocked by debris that would prevent air flow.
If you've done these two trouble shooting tasks and the toilet is still gurgling or bubbling, you will probably want to call a professional such an expert from I-Deal HVAC to evaluate the problem. As the trusted plumber in Albuquerque, I-Deal HVAC 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 carries 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 probable that the problem can be found in the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain inside your toilet tank that is hooked to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is connected to the flapper, which acts as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The best way to find out why your toilet is difficult to flush is to take off the lid, peer inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process is supposed to work when 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 whoosh 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 somehow comes unhooked 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 might be something wrong with the handle.
5. What Is Causing My Toilet To Leak?
A dripping toilet can be a costly scenario, 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 may be something wrong with 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. Often, these issues are best fixed by a certified plumber.
6. Why Is My Toilet Not Filling with Water?
A toilet that won't fill with water in many cases indicates a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube is damaged 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 wrong with the float, which is a device that prompts the fill valve to stop letting water into the tank when the water has gotten to the correct level. The fill valve does this when the water level lifts the float to a predetermined height. It might 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 could require adjusting or replacing the fill valve.