by Dan |
Last Updated: January 18, 2021 Regardless of how much your toilet costs, it’s bound to land into problems. Most of these minor issues might cost you 50-250 dollars if you involve your call plumber. Emergency plumbing repairs can be more expensive.
Fortunately, an average homeowner can troubleshoot most of these issues and save the money for other uses.
Common Problems
1 – Phantom Flush
A toilet that flushes itself at very weird hours of the night can drive you insane. Phantom flushes occur when the water slowly leaks to the bowl causing spontaneous refills. Usually, the problem is usually due to a flapper or flapper seat that is not sealing completely.
How Do You Troubleshoot A Leaking Flapper?
Simply drain all the water in the cistern and add food dye to the tank as the water refills. After around 5 minutes, you should see the colored water in the bowl if the flapper is worn out. Fix this by fitting a new one.
2 – A Leaking Toilet
A leaking toilet can waste close to 200 gallons of water in a single day. This is among several other problems that call for immediate attention.
A leak may be due to a broken toilet tank or a stuck flapper. For a one piece toilet, a broken tank may necessitate replacing the entire unit. A 2 piece toilet offers some sort of relief since you only have to replace the cistern.
A leak may also occur in case the arm of the flapper gets stuck on other components inside the tank. The fill valve, therefore, continues to fill the tank leading to a massive leakage. In such cases, shutoff the toilet’s water supply, lift the lid, and check whether the flapper is stuck.
3 – Toilet Overflow
The last thing that you want to see is your toilet’s bowl overflowing and causing floods in your bathroom.
An overflowing toilet is caused by a blockage/clogging or an error in the tank that prevents the ball from closing the fill valve.
To fix this, either rig the ball to close the fill valve or shut the water supply completely. By the time you are through with shutting off the water supply, you should be able to tell whether there is a blockage in the trapway or not. In case there is clogging, take the plunger and dislodge the mass.
4 – Weak Toilet Flush
Even the best flushers fitted with the most coveted flushing systems gradually lose their oomph and result to lazy/weak flushes that create a lot of anxiety.
Usually, this is caused by mineral buildup around the rim feed and jet holes. This restricts water from flowing into the bowl as required causing sluggish water flow.
To solve this, hold the flapper open and add about 2 cups of toilet cleaning solution. Give it a few hours to work on all the mineral buildup along the system then flush.
5 – An Running Toilet
A toilet that runs constantly is yet another recipe for hefty water bills. In most instances, this issue emanates from a flapper that fails to seal completely. If this is the case, you might want to purchase a similar flapper and install it as per the instructions.
How Do You Know That It’s Time For A New Toilet?
Toilets are among a few other household fixtures that you don’t replace until they are completely beaten out. However, a toilet that decides to close business indefinitely can be a real ordeal if it catches you unaware.
Here are several signs that your toilet is almost giving in:
- A discolored and stained bowl not only downgrades your bathroom’s décor, but it also makes cleaning hellish and could also harbor bacteria.
- A toilet that requires repairs and unclogging every other day.
- Low water level in the bowl – in many instances, this is caused by a broken s-trap. Gases may start filling the house if replacement is not done quickly.
- A ‘rocking’ toilet – a throne that wobbles may be as a result of a rotten subfloor or loose hold-down bolts. An aged toilet may also have a rotten base which automatically calls for replacement.
- A system that uses too much water – if you are still using a pre-1994 toilet, the chance is that you use 3.5-6 gallons of water per flush. If you are serious about saving water, the market today is full of toilets that use up to 1.28 gallons per flush and still offer outstanding performance.