Is your toilet running? Weird gurgling noise emitting from your toilet bowl? From water leaks to peculiar noises, toilets can do all sorts of bizarre things.
Fortunately, with a little troubleshooting, there are many toilet issues you can solve by yourself. Here, the specialists at PS Cool Heat will go over some of the most prevalent 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 Is My Toilet Running?
If your toilet is constantly running, it is an issue you should fix because it's most likely also costing you money on your water bill.
A common culprit that causes a running toilet is something wrong with the overflow tube. Located in the tank in the back of your toilet, an overflow tube allows extra water to drain from the tank into your toilet bowl so the water level in your tank does not get too high and leak all over your floor. Occasionally, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube is detached. If that’s the scenario, you can 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 acts as a plug in the bottom of your tank—is malfunctioning and no longer forms the tight seal needed to hold water in the tank. This causes water to escape out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a running toilet is caused by something amiss 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 the appropriate height. If your float is set too high, this will allow the water level to rise too high, and the excess water will flow into your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.
2. Why Does My Toilet Make a Gurgling Sound?
A gurgling toilet is commonly caused by a partial blockage in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or an obstruction in your sewage vent. If the problem is a clog in your toilet, you can try to fix this by using a plunger or drain snake to loosen the clog. If this rectify the issue, you can examine where your sewage vent exits your home to confirm 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 call a professional such an expert from PS Cool Heat to evaluate the problem. As the experienced plumber in Highlands Ranch, PS Cool Heat will find out if the issue was caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines carrying toilet water out of your home or the mainline that removes waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.
4. Why Is It Hard to Flush My Toilet?
If your toilet is hard to flush, it's likely the problem lies the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain in the toilet tank that is affixed 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 find out why your toilet is challenging to flush is to take off 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 permits the water to flow out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.
Sometimes a toilet doesn't flush because the chain is caught on something inside the tank, which stops the chain from pulling 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, release the caught chain or reach in and change it to the appropriate length.
Sometimes flappers can get stuck when they get old or become worn out. It's also possible there may be something amiss with the handle.
5. Why Is My Toilet Leaking?
A leaky toilet can be a costly problem, 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 could be something wrong with 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 connects to the floor. Most of these issues are best fixed by a certified plumber.
6. Why Won't My Toilet Fill With Water?
A toilet that isn't filling with water often traces back to a problem with the fill valve, which is what fills your toilet tank with water. If the tube is broken or is blocked by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it may not be allowing water into the tank.
Another typical cause for your toilet not filling with water is something wrong with the float, which is a device that signals the fill valve to stop bringing 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 preset height. It may be that the float/float assembly needs adjustment so that the water can attain the proper level. Or, fixing a toilet not filling with water may require adjusting or replacing the fill valve.
