Does your toilet refuse to stop running? Strange gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leakages to peculiar noises, toilets can do all sorts of bizarre things.
Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are many toilet problems you can correct yourself. Here, the specialists at The Frazier Company will go over some of the most frequent 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 Is My Toilet Running?
If your toilet keeps running all the time, it is an issue you should repair because it's in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.
A common culprit that causes a running toilet is something incorrect 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 does not get too high and spill over the top of the tank. Occasionally, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube has become detached. If that’s the scenario, you should be able to 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 thing that could cause a toilet to run could be the flapper--which functions 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 maintains the water level in your tank. It accomplishes 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 permits the water level to rise too high, and the unwanted water will go in your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Does My Toilet Make a Gurgling Sound?
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 try fixing this by using a plunger or drain snake to remove the clog. If this doesn’t work, you can look at where your sewage vent exits your home to ensure it is not blocked by debris that would restrict air flow.
If you've confirmed the problem isn't a clog in the toilet or a vent obstruction, you will probably want to contact a professional such an expert from The Frazier Company to evaluate the problem. As the go-to plumber in Omaha, The Frazier Company will investigate whether the noise is caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines transporting 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 it's difficult to flush your toilet, it's likely the problem lies 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 connected to the flapper, which serves as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The quickest way to figure out why your toilet is challenging to flush is to lift up the lid, peer inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process is supposed to 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 enables the water to drain out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet will never flush because the chain is stuck on something within the tank, which prevents the chain from yanking up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or somehow comes unhooked from either the handle or the flapper. If this happens, release 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. Or, there could be something awry with the handle.
5. Why Is My Toilet Leaking?
A dripping toilet can be a costly problem, potentially causing water damage in and around your bathroom. Often, a leaky toilet is caused by a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it may be a malfunction in the toilet float.
Cracked gaskets around the connections on the underside of the tank also can permit water to leak out of the toilet, as can a damaged toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it connects to the floor. The majority of these issues are best fixed by a professional plumber.
6. Why Is There No Water in My Toilet?
A toilet that isn't filling with water in many cases indicates a problem with the fill valve, which is what fills your toilet tank with water. If the tube has failed or is blocked by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it may not be allowing water into the tank.
Another common cause for your toilet not filling with water is something amiss with the float, which is a device that signals the fill valve to stop allowing water into the tank when the water has risen to the correct level. The fill valve gives the signal to stop when the water level lifts the float to a predetermined height. It could be that the float/float assembly needs adjustment so that the water is allowed to reach the appropriate level. Or, repairing a toilet not filling with water might require adjusting or replacing the fill valve.
