Is your toilet running? Weird gurgling noise arising from your toilet bowl? From water leakage to peculiar noises, toilets can do all sorts of bizarre things.
Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are many toilet issues you can solve by yourself. Here, the professionals at AZ Air Conditioning and Heating 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 fix because it's in all likelihood also costing you money on your water bill.
A frequent reason for a running toilet is something amiss with the overflow tube. Found 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 doesn't get too high and overflow the top of the tank. Sometimes, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube got detached. If that’s the scenario, you can reach into the tank and reattach them. It also may be your toilet is running due to the fact the overflow tube is isn't tall enough for the water level and needs to be replaced by one that is taller height.
Another factor causing a toilet to run could be the flapper--which serves as a plug in the bottom of your tank—is damaged and no longer forms the tight seal needed to hold water in the tank. Not having a good seal allows water to flow out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.
Occasionally a running toilet is caused by something wrong with your toilet float, which is a floating device that determines the water level in your tank. It achieves this by shutting off your fill valve when the water level raises the float to a preset height. If your float is set too high, this permits the water level to rise too high, and the extra 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 clog 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 loosen the clog. If this doesn’t work, you can look at where your sewage vent exits your home to make sure 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 should phone a professional such an expert from AZ Air Conditioning and Heating to evaluate the problem. As the trusted plumber in Los Angeles, AZ Air Conditioning and Heating 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 Is It Hard to Flush My Toilet?
If you can’t flush your toilet, it's likely the problem is with the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain within the toilet tank that is attached to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is attached to the flapper, which serves as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.
The quickest way to get to the bottom of why your toilet is difficult to flush is to remove the lid, look inside the tank and investigate.
Here’s how the process should 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 snagged on something in the tank, which prevents the chain from lifting up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or becomes detached 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 as they get older or become worn out. It's also possible there could be something amiss with the handle.
5. What Is Causing My Toilet To Leak?
A dripping toilet can be a costly problem, potentially leading to water damage in and around your bathroom. Many times, a leaky toilet is due to a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it could be a failure in 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 weakened 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 certified plumber.
6. Why Is My Toilet Not Filling with Water?
A toilet that won't fill with water often indicates a problem with the fill valve, which is the valve that lets water into your toilet tank. If the tube is broken 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 faulty with the float, which is a device that prompts the fill valve to stop allowing water into the tank when the water has reached 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 is allowed to reach the proper level. Or, fixing a toilet not filling with water could require adjusting or changing the fill valve.