Three Common Toilet Problems

March 24th, 2015 Posted in Toilets
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Let’s be honest; toilet problems aren’t anyone’s favorite issue to deal with as a homeowner. Whether it’s a slow-flushing toilet or one capable of flushing by itself, we would rather ignore it than try to fix the problem. However, these issues do crop up, and must be dealt with before they lead to bigger plumbing headaches. Many toilet problems are easy and inexpensive to fix on your own, if you know what the problem is and how to address the situation. Here are three of the most common problems and what needs to be done to resolve the issue.

  1. Slow-flushing toilet. If your toilet is flushing slowly but isn’t clogged, you may have mineral build up in your tank and fixtures. Check to make sure your tank is filling correctly; it the float is corroded, it may be shutting off prematurely. Try cleaning the mineral deposits off your fixtures or replacing them altogether.
  2. Self-flushing toilet. If the toilet is flushing on its own, most likely water is leaking from the tank into the bowl, causing it to fill and then flush. Put a few drops of food coloring in your tank and wait to see if the colored water leaks into the bowl. If it does, you probably have a leaky flapper valve.
  3. Clogged toilet. The first and easiest fix for a clogged toilet is to use your plunger to remove the clog. However, if the clog is farther down into your plumbing, you may need a snake to remove it, or a professional plumbing service.

Most toilet fixtures and parts can be found at almost any hardware or home improvement store and are fairly easy to install. If you aren’t handy with tools or just don’t particularly like working on your toilet, your local plumber can always come to the rescue to fix these common problems.

Posted on behalf of:
Bynum & Sons Plumbing, Inc.
2120 McDaniels Bridge Rd SW
Lilburn, GA 30047
(770) 736-8283

 

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Is Your Toilet Not Flushing Right?

December 5th, 2014 Posted in Toilets
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While it’s not generally considered polite to engage in toilet talk, when talking about plumbing, it’s acceptable. The fact is, we all depend on our toilets to do their jobs, day in and day out. There are few things that can start your day off worse than finding that your toilet is not flushing properly, or worse, not at all. While a clogged pipe is often the cause, there are a few other things you can check before calling in the plumber.

Slow Flushing

Often a toilet may be flushing, just doing so slowly or only part of the way. While this can mean a clogged pipe, it can also be an issue with your tank. If the tank is not filling all the way up, there may not be enough water to properly flush the tank.

To determine whether the tank is the problem, take the lid off to look at the water level and interior of the tank. If the water level is low, the ballcock or float maybe engaging too soon, stopping the water flow. This can be adjusted so the tank fills to a higher level. If there’s an abundance of mineral build up, this can also affect the float. Try cleaning the mineral deposits out, then see if the toilet flushes correctly.

If there doesn’t seem to be any issue within the toilet, most likely you do have a clog in your pipes. You can try plunging out the clog if it’s close enough to the toilet, but you may need to call in your plumber to resolve the problem.

Posted on behalf of:
Seagraves Plumbing Sewer & Septic
4980 Plant Atkinson Rd SE
Smyrna, GA 30080
(494) 792-2221

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Why Won’t Your Toilet Flush?

January 16th, 2013 Posted in Toilets
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The invention of the indoor toilet has been a wonderful convenience for modern man. However, the toilet or water closet, as it is often called, has one issue that they never worried about with the outhouse and the chamber pot.

Since neither of those antiquated options had a flushing mechanism, you didn’t have the problem that occurs with our modern toilets and changes them from a convenience to a great inconvenience. That inconvenience happens when the water of our ‘water closet’ does not do the work it is intended to do. There are various reasons why a toilet does not flush properly and may need toilet repairs.

  • Toilet handle. Your toilet’s flush handle is connected to the mechanism inside the tank that lifts the plunger off the tank’s drain to allow the water to flow from the tank to the bowl and flush the contents down the drain. Occasionally, the mechanism attached to the toilet handle can break. If this happens, the handle will generally flop without any tension. Lifting the tank cover off will allow you to look inside to see if that is where the problem lies.
  • Flushing mechanism. Even if the mechanism attached to the handle is intact, there may be other problems related to the flushing mechanism which are stopping it from operating properly. Many toilets have a chain that is attached to the plunger that sits in the bottom of the tank. If that chain breaks or becomes detached at either end, then the flush handle will not be able to do it’s work of releasing the plunger. Again, raising the tank cover and looking inside can easily determine if this is the problem.

Should you discover that your flushing mechanism is broken and no longer operating correctly, a call to your local plumber can quickly remedy the situation.

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Common Toilet Repair Issues

December 7th, 2012 Posted in Toilets
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We’re all thankful to have the benefit of indoor toilets rather than the outhouses and chamber pots of our grandparent’s generation. Unfortunately, our modern commodes are not without their problems. It’s no fun when a toilet no longer operates the way it is supposed to. Here are some of the most common toilet repair issues and their potential causes:

  • Won’t flush. When your toilet won’t flush at all, the problem is often either in the handle or the interior flushing mechanism in the water tank of the toilet. The handle of your toilet is connected to a mechanism, often a lever and chain, which lifts the ball cock and allows the water to flow out of the tank and into the bowl. If the handle has broken or the chain has become tangled, detached or broken, the ball cock won’t be lifted and the toilet won’t flush. Sometimes this is a simple DIY repair and other times it will require the purchase of new parts to repair the situation.
     
  • Clogged toilet. This is definitely the worst situation to encounter when it comes to toilet repair. Most times when your toilet bowl will not empty when it is flushed or empties very slowly, that is an indication of a clogged toilet. Your handy ‘plumber’s helper’ or toilet plunger is always the first resort and often all that is needed to dislodge the clog and allow the toilet bowl to drain. If this solution does not work, a foreign object may have been flushed down the toilet that is securely lodged. This may require the assistance of a plumber to determine the problem and dislodge the obstruction.
  • Water keeps running. This problem can be not only annoying, but costly to your utility bills. Just like the toilet that won’t flush. This problem can come from the handle itself or from a number of issues with the flushing mechanism inside the tank. It may take some investigation to determine the cause and correct the situation.
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Toilet Tips To Save Water And Money

July 17th, 2012 Posted in Toilets
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The estimates vary, but the average daily indoor water use per person in the United States is somewhere between 70 and 100 gallons a day.  Many people are surprised to find out the single largest use of water in the home is for flushing the toilet. The toilet accounts for more than 25% of our average daily water usage.  If that’s not bad enough, toilet leaks can easily cause your water usage to double or more. According to EPA estimates, a leaky toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons a day!

Minimizing toilet water usage means installing modern low flow toilets and fixing any toilet leaks.  If you have an older pre-1995 toilet, you are flushing money down the sewer.  Older toilets use anywhere from 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush while modern WaterSense toilets use 1.3 gallons per flush without sacrificing performance.

You can save hundreds of dollars per year on your water bill by installing a water efficient toilet.  The savings on your water bill will pay for the cost of a toilet and professional toilet installation by a good plumber in just a few years.

If you already have low flow toilets, then your priority is to fix any toilet leaks.  You can check for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank and seeing if the water in the bowl changes color.  If so you have a leak that needs to be fixed.  First, flush all of that dye out of the tank and bowl to avoid staining the porcelain.  Then call a plumber and have the leaks repaired.  Fortunately, fixing a leaky toilet is usually an inexpensive plumbing job that will pay for itself quickly.

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Simple Toilet Repairs

March 28th, 2012 Posted in Bathroom Repairs
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In most cases, if you need toilet repairs your best bet is to call a good local Orlando plumber to get the job done quickly and professionally.  This is especially true if your toilet is leaking from around the base, from the tank where it mounts on the base, or from the water supply line.  A leak from any of these areas needs to be repaired by an experienced Orlando plumber immediately before it can cause further damage to your floors and cabinets.

In addition, a leak around the base of the toilet is unsanitary.  Homeowners attempting to fix many of these types of leaks by tightening the fitting simply end up cracking the toilet or breaking a fitting and causing a much bigger leak.  It’s best to let a professional Orlando plumber take care of these bathroom repairs to avoid causing a larger problem.

However, if your toilet is “running” or not flushing you may be able to quickly find and fix the problem yourself.  The first step is to remove the tank cover and look inside the tank. If the problem is that your handle moves freely and the toilet won’t flush, you probably have a broken chain between the handle lever and the flapper valve.  See if you can hook the chain back together and solve the problem.

If your toilet runs, look to see if there is something caught underneath the flapper valve at the bottom of the tank.  In many cases, the extra chain from the handle will get stuck under the flapper and stop it from fully closing.

If that’s not the problem, you may have a problem with your float.  If you have a large “ball type” float at the end of a brass colored rod, gently lift the float slightly to see if the toilet stops running. If so, gently bending the rod down slightly will help the valve shut off.

If you have a fill valve with an integrated cylindrical float, see if adjusting the float slightly up or down takes care of the “running” issue.  If all else fails, call your local Orlando plumber.  They will be able to diagnose the problem and handle any toilet repairs.

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Quieting Noisy Toilets

February 5th, 2011 Posted in Bathroom Repairs
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You flush the toilet, and consider running for earplugs.  Sound familiar?  If your toilet has developed new sounds, you may need the services of a professional plumber who handles bathroom repairs.

Noisy toilets are best described as an increase in the noise after flushing.  The sounds are also abnormal, and many homeowners will describe these sounds as a loud, continuous gurgling noise.  If this describes the sounds that your toilet is making, you may have a faulty or broken fill valve.

Fill valves (also known as tank valves) are water valves that control the water for the refill (post flush) cycle.  This is the water that will actually fill the toilet bowl after it has been drained.  Fill valves eventually wear out, and it will sound like a large gurgling or continuous running in the toilet.

The fill valve is located inside the toilet tank.  When you remove the lid, you want to inspect a few different things.  Is there water in the tall column, or the fill valve itself?  There should be some water, but it should not be completely full.  If it is, the valve probably needs to be replaced.  When the fill water is too high, continuous running and gurgling will occur.  This not only wastes water, but can also be an annoyance to listen to.

A tank valve replacement is a simple repair by a local professional plumber.  Tank valves traditionally need to be replaced every five to ten years, and are relatively inexpensive repairs.  When you call the plumber, describe the steps you have taken and the exact sounds being made.  This will help isolate the problem and decrease your service call costs.

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