If your toilet is constantly running, this means that something is not properly working and allowing water to flow continuously from the toilet. It could be from many different components of the toilet such as the bowl, tank, water supply or even the flange that secures it to the sewer drain line. While this type of leak typically won’t cause significant damage, it can if not repaired sooner than later and waste lots of water that would also increase your water bill.
If your toilet runs constantly, it’s likely to be one of the following most common problems:
1. Your toilet needs a new flapper.
The flapper is a rubber part that closes the opening between your toilet tank and toilet bowl. It opens when you flush the toilet so that water can fill the bowl. Otherwise, the flapper should remain sealed shut.
If the flapper is old, it can become worn and cracked and allow water to leak from the tank to the toilet bowl. The solution here is to replace the flapper, either on your own or with a plumber’s help.
2. The flapper chain is no longer connected to both the flapper and the flush lever.
Are you having problems with a relatively new toilet flapper? Make sure that the chain in your toilet is connected to both the flapper and the flush lever so that they can work in tandem whenever you flush your toilet. Reconnect the chain if necessary.
3. The flapper chain is the wrong length.
If the chain is connected to the flapper and the flush lever, the chain length may be the issue. If the chain is too short, the flapper won’t be able to close all the way, and water will leak through. If the chain is too long, you’ll have the opposite problem: the flapper won’t open when you push the flush lever to flush your toilet. You’ll need to adjust the chain length so that it’s just long enough for the flapper to seal shut.
4. The float in the tank is too high.
Once you flush your toilet, the tank needs to refill with water – but only up to a point. The float is a device that “tells” your toilet when to stop filling the tank with water. This prevents the tank from overflowing. Your toilet also has an overflow tube to prevent problems with overflowing in case other parts of your toilet fail.
In some toilets, the float is set too high, which causes water to enter the overflow tube and leak into the bowl. You can solve this problem by lowering the float’s height in the toilet tank. Typically, this requires loosening the screws in the float arm so that you can lower the float and then retightening the float arm screws in the new, lower position.
Don’t be fooled though, toilets can be very tricky to diagnose, no matter what those YouTube videos may tell you as it could be something outside of the toilet’s tank. When the problem is found outside of the tank it’s probably more noticeable than just hearing the toilet run and you could possibly see water coming from areas like the base of the toilet, the seal from the toilet to the sewer system, the tank to bowl seal or even the water supply line angle stop.
At ABC Plumbing, we’re proud to offer quality toilet repair and installation services in the DFW Metroplex by our licensed professionals. We also warranty our services as well as provide free onsite estimates to ensure customer satisfaction. Schedule your service appointment or free on site estimate today by calling 817-427-3222 or contact us online here.
