Yes, this is car forum... but it seems that there are plenty of handy people around here (what with various renovation threads and such), so i figured i'd get a few opinions. A week or so ago, i noticed my toilet leaking. So i turned off the water, replaced the flapper, and lightly scrubbed around the outlet to ensure there weren't any mineral deposits (we have hard water up here, although i do have a water softener so there shouldn't be any deposits). Turned the water back on, problem solved! That was Saturday morning. Last night, i had to once again turn off the water to the toilet because it was leaking. I've checked everything i can think of (most notably chain length and water level), and can't find anything else wrong. So, do i need to plop down the money on a new toilet? Or am i missing something?
Is it leaking through the valve, eg running all the time? I like to use those universal valve/float replacements, they are very reliable with hard water. Could be the old valve is kaput. If you lift up on the float and apply more force, does the valve shut off then? Valves are easy to bugger up. I've made the booboo of doing a new plumbing setup, and not flushing the lines before hooking up the head. For copper pipe, there will be trash in the pipes (Eg, dirt, bits of flux and solder) that will make the valve stick. For pex, little shavings and other dirt will also make the valve stick, though this isn't as big a concern. Always flush out the lines into a large bucket before hooking up appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, or toilets What's the deal with all the malfunctioning plumbing lately? Is the plumbing rising up against us? Will we have to dig outhouses in our backyards?
I have the same question: Is you toilet "running" or actually leaking onto the floor? If it's just running, as Jayman suggests, you can purchase a repair kit with a new fill valve and flapper. They are inexpensive and fairly simple to install. Tom
It's running - but as i said, i already replaced the flapper. The problem definitely isn't in the fill portion of the tank - it's in in the drain. I can stand there, watch it fill up (and turn off), then watch as the water level visibly decreases to the point where it needs to fill again. You can also hear a slow drip type sound when everything else is quiet - the drip goes away and (from what i can tell) the level stops dropping if i press down lightly on the flapper.
there should be a little hole inside your toiled that's a vent. if the drain line is clogged it can cause this to happen by siphoning water down the vent. unclog and you may be in business.
Check the valve seat (the part the flapper contacts), make sure there are no pits or groves around the edge. If there are, this will cause the leaking, I had this one time, long ago, but if I remember correctly, I was able to get a complete valve kit that included the seat.
I also think it's the flapper not seating correctly. Either the new flapper isn't quite the right one or the seat is damaged. Fluidmaster sells several kits, one includes a new plastic seat that glues over old seat so you don't have to take so much apart. If your water lever is below the overflow pipe than the flapper leaking is how the water is getting back to the bowl. Here's a link to the Priuschat of toilets. http://www.terrylove.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3
Oh, not the actual valve then. I agree, the flapper may need a new seat. There are flappers that look pretty close to the same, but a slight difference in flapper ring and construction can result in a slow leak Vent tube, haven't had that happen. I'd probably run amok and sledgehammer the head if it ever did that to me A Priuschat of plumbing? Of *course* there would be!
Several people have noticed that plumbing has one particular Great Truth: once you start in on something, you keep finding more that desperately needs attention. It just builds on itself. . I reworked my toilet not long ago too, and the new flapper had the same kind of very slow drip leak. It made the new ballcock valve open and run every minute or so, and then shut off with a snap [it has hysterisis]. I managed to fiddle a screw adjustment to get rid of the hysterisis so the ballcock would quietly open just enough to compensate for the leak, and eventually the leak stopped by itself as the flapper and the outlet seat adapted to each other. Mineral/crud buildup actually has a self-sealing action in many circumstances. . _H*
There's a few definitions: 1. Stylish woman in the Roaring 20's with short skirt & bobbed hair and danced in the speak-easies. 2. Somebody who talks too much (flapping their gums) 3. A square piece of thick rubber, about a foot by foot and a half, on a long handle, that is used for controlling burns in a prairie restoration. But you're probably looking for definition #4.
I've had Magik Self Healing happen just enough in plumbing to believe in it. Until the Magik Self Healing runs amok and the plumbing becomes downright Possessed Tossing a match to the house is always a good option too
Great information guys, thanks. I'll be looking for one of those kits with the plastic seat on it - hopefully it can solve my problem. I definitely don't want to spend all that money on a new toilet if i can avoid it!
Agreed. But at some point, your time and frustration may get to where it's more worthwhile to buy a new one. I've spent far too much time tinkering with the old toilets in this place, adjusting this and replacing that. The next time one developed a problem, I said, that's it, you're out of here.
Unless that toilet is +40 years old, grouted improperly into a tile floor. In which case you're taking a sledgehammer to it Oddly enough, I've found the sledgehammer route VERY satisfying
The house is 70-something, but I'm sure the toilet wasn't that old. The room's too small to be swinging a sledgehammer - as satisfying as that would have been, it would made for even more plaster work. One nice surprise was the beautiful wood flooring we discovered beneath the decrepit lino. Clear grain fir was junk wood back then, but it looks pretty darn good now.
I have been able to swing a sledgehammer inside the confines of a cast iron bath tub. It can be done. Tom
Until some trixters decide to move it about 6 feet to the rear. :ninja::biggrin1: But there's outhouses, then there are OUTHOUSES! For your viewing pleasure, this baby is in my home town...
