When a toilet is running, it continues to drain water even after the actual flush cycle has ended. Three main culprits can cause this: the flapper, the refill tube, and the water level.
No matter what the issue, the solution is quite simple, and unless there’s a larger underlying problem, there’s a good chance you can stop your toilet from running in very little time and with very few tools. Here are the top three reasons a toilet will run and what you can do about them.
1. W
hen the Water Needs to Be Lowered
Too much water in the tank means water can drain down through the overflow tube, and this will cause the toilet to run when it shouldn’t.
If you’re not sure if the water is too high, take off the tank lid and have a look. The water should be about an inch lower than the top of the overflow tube.
The fix: To lower the water in the tank, all you need to do is lower the float. This could be a float ball attached to a long arm that’s fixed to the fill valve, or it could be a float column that’s affixed right onto the fill valve.
Either way, you need to loosen the screw or clip holding it to the fill valve. If you have a float arm, it will lower automatically when you adjust the screw. If you have a float column, manually push down the float and then tighten everything up.
2. When the Refill Tube is too Long
Most of the time when a toilet is running, it’s a very small part that’s not functioning properly or not positioned the way it should be. This is the case with the refill tube, a small, thin tube that runs water from the fill valve to the overflow tube.
When this skinny little tube isn’t installed properly, it causes the toilet to run. The refill tube should sit just above the overflow tube, and should not be pushed down inside it.
The fix: To shorten the refill tube, cut it to where it’s supposed to be, which is just above the opening to the overflow tube. Make sure you angle it downward into the tube and then clip it to the side of the overflow tube.
3. When the Flapper is Worn
Despite how small it is and even though it’s just a piece of rubber, the flapper in your toilet tank is an integral part of the system. Without it, water from the tank would drain down into the toilet bowl constantly.
In fact, when your running toilet is caused by a worn flapper, that’s exactly what’s happening. Because the flapper isn’t forming a proper seal anymore, it allows water to drip down into the bowl even when the toilet isn’t in a flush cycle.
The fix: To change a flapper, remove the old chain, remove the old flapper from the pins on the overflow tube, and replace it with a brand new one. To make your job easier, empty the toilet tank first by turning off the water and flushing.
If plumbing isn’t your forte and you aren’t comfortable attempting to fix your running toilet on your own, Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer is here to help.
Similarly, if you go through these solutions and aren’t able to find the problem, give us a call at 626-962-0885 and we’ll have a look. Or, if you need help with an unrelated plumbing issue, get in touch today and in no time we’ll get your pipes and systems running the way they should be.