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.
Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are lots of toilet dilemmas you can fix on your own. Here, the specialists at Air-Right Energy Design will go over some of the most common 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 Won't My Toilet Stop Running?
If your toilet won't stop running, it is something you should correct because it's most likely also costing you money on your water bill.
A typical culprit that causes 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 overflow the top of the tank. At times, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube is detached. If that’s the situation, you most likely can just reach into the tank and reattach them. It also could 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 the appropriate height.
Another factor causing 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 needed to hold water in the tank. This enables water to seep through or around the damaged flapper and leak out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Occasionally a running toilet is caused by something awry 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 flow into your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Is My Toilet Bubbling?
A gurgling toilet is usually caused by a partial blockage in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or an obstruction in your sewage vent. If the cause of the issue 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 should phone a professional such an expert from Air-Right Energy Design to evaluate the problem. As the trusted plumber in Manassas, Air-Right Energy Design 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 takes waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Won't My Toilet Flush?
If your toilet is hard to flush, there’s a good chance the problem can be found in the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain inside the toilet tank that is attached to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is linked to the flapper, which serves as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The easiest way to figure out why your toilet is hard to flush is to take off the lid, peek inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process should 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 allows the water to flow 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 prevents the chain from yanking up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or gets disconnected from either the handle or the flapper. If this happens, free the caught chain or reach in and shorten it to the appropriate length.
At times flappers can get stuck when they get old or become worn out. It's also possible there may be something wrong with the handle.
5. Why Is My Toilet Leaking?
A leaky toilet can be a costly situation, potentially leading to 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 may be a failure in 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 weakened toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it sits on the floor. Often, 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 frequently indicates a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube has failed or is blocked by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it may not be allowing water into the tank.
Another likely cause for your toilet not filling with water is something faulty with the float, which is a device that triggers the fill valve to stop bringing water into the tank when the water has risen to the correct level. The fill valve does this when the water level lifts the float to a set height. It might be that the float/float assembly needs adjustment so that the water can attain the appropriate level. Or, repairing a toilet not filling with water may require adjusting or replacing the fill valve.
