Does your toilet keep running? Weird gurgling noise coming from your toilet bowl? From water leakage to odd noises, toilets can do all sorts of strange things.
Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are lots of toilet issues you can solve by yourself. Here, the specialists at Tri County Climate Control LLC 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 Does My Toilet Always Run?
If your toilet is constantly running, it is an issue you should correct because it's in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A typical reason for a running toilet is something wrong with the overflow tube. Located 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 scenario, you most likely can just reach into the tank and reattach them. It also could be your toilet is running because the overflow tube is too short 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 serves as a plug in the bottom of your tank—is damaged and no longer forms the tight seal necessary to hold water in the tank. This causes water to leak out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a running toilet is caused by something wrong with your toilet float, which is a floating device that maintains the water level in your tank. It achieves 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 Is My Toilet Bubbling?
A gurgling toilet is often caused by a partial obstruction in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or a blockage in your sewage vent. If the cause of the issue is a clog in your toilet, you can try fixing this by using a plunger or drain snake to remove the clog. If this rectify the issue, you can examine where your sewage vent exits your home to ensure 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, it would be a good idea to phone a professional such an expert from Tri County Climate Control LLC to evaluate the problem. As the experienced plumber in Bend, Tri County Climate Control LLC 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 Is My Toilet Hard to Flush?
If it's difficult to flush your toilet, it's likely the problem can be found in the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain within the toilet tank that is hooked to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is attached 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 difficult to flush is to lift up the lid, peer 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 drain out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet won’t flush because the chain is snagged on something inside the tank, which stops 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.
Sometimes flappers can get stuck as they get older or become worn out. There also might be something awry with the handle.
5. Why Is There a Leak in My Toilet?
A dripping toilet can be a costly problem, potentially producing water damage in and around your bathroom. Usually, 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 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 attaches to the floor. Often, these issues are best fixed by a certified plumber.
6. Why Is My Toilet Not Filling with Water?
A toilet that isn't filling with water often suggests a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube is broken 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 wrong with the float, which is a device that prompts the fill valve to stop bringing water into the tank when the water has risen to the correct level. The fill valve performs this function 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 rises to the correct level. Or, fixing a toilet not filling with water may require adjusting or exchanging the fill valve.