Is your toilet running? Strange gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leaks to unusual noises, toilets can do all sorts of bizarre things.
Fortunately, with a little troubleshooting, there are lots of toilet dilemmas you can fix yourself. Here, the specialists at Retro HVAC Service & Installation will go over some of the most common 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 Is My Toilet Running?
If your toilet won't stop running, it is a situation you should correct because it's in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A common cause of 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 won't get too high and overflow the top of the tank. Sometimes, the issue is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube got detached. If that’s the case, you most likely can just reach into the tank and reattach them. It also may be your toilet is running due to the fact the overflow tube is too short for the water level and needs to be replaced by one that is the correct 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—has malfunctioned and no longer forms the tight seal necessary to hold water in the tank. This causes water to flow out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Occasionally 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 preset height. If your float is set too high, this permits the water level to rise too high, and the unwanted water will go in your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Is My Toilet Bubbling?
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 fixing this by using a plunger or drain snake to loosen the clog. If this does not have any effect, 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 confirmed the problem isn't a clog in the toilet or a vent obstruction, you will probably want to call a professional such an expert from Retro HVAC Service & Installation to evaluate the problem. As the trusted plumber in Philadelphia, Retro HVAC Service & Installation 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 removes waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Is It Hard to Flush My Toilet?
If it's difficult to flush your toilet, it's likely the problem lies the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain within a toilet tank that is hooked to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is connected to the flapper, which serves as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The easiest way to get to the bottom of why your toilet is difficult to flush is to lift up the lid, peer 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 allows the water to drain out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet won’t flush because the chain is stuck on something in 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, unhook the caught chain or reach in and shorten it to the appropriate length.
Occasionally flappers can get stuck as they age or become worn out. There also could be something awry with the handle.
5. Why Is There a Leak in My Toilet?
A leaky toilet can be a costly problem, potentially producing water damage in and around your bathroom. Many times, 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 is often because there is a malfunction in the toilet float.
Cracked gaskets around the connections on the underside of the tank also can permit water to leak out of the toilet, as can a weakened toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it connects to the floor. The majority of these issues are best fixed by a professional plumber.
6. Why Is There No Water in My Toilet?
A toilet that isn't filling with water often traces back to a problem with the fill valve, which fills the tank in the back of your toilet with water. If the tube is damaged or is blocked by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it might not be allowing water into the tank.
Another likely cause for your toilet not filling with water is something amiss with the float, which is a device that signals the fill valve to stop bringing water into the tank when the water has reached 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.