Is there anything more frustrating than a toilet that does not work right? Considering how often they are used and the fact that we do very little maintenance on our toilets until something goes wrong, it’s a wonder that they work as well as they do and break down so infrequently.
The vast majority of toilets in the U.S. are standard flush toilets that rely on gravity and water pressure to get the job done. When you turn the flush lever, it opens a flapper valve at the bottom of the toilet tank that lets the water in the tank flow into the bowl and flush the waste down the drain.
Releasing the handle allows the flapper valve to close so the tank can refill with water. A tank fill valve handles the job of refilling the tank with water. The fill valve is operated by either a ball float at the end of a wire rod or a cylindrical float on the fill valve. As the tank gets full, the float rises and activates a shutoff valve that stops the water from flowing into the tank. At this point the toilet is ready for another flushing.
Most of the parts that make a toilet work are inside the toilet tank. Carefully remove the lid and watch what happens inside the tank when you flush the toilet. If the flush handle turns easily but nothing happens, the chain connecting the handle and the flapper valve has either broken or detached. Re-connecting the chain will fix this problem.
If the toilet “runs” constantly or has “ghost flushes” you could have a leaky flapper valve, a bad fill valve, a leaking float, or the fill valve could be adjusted improperly. If you are unable to tell which one of these is causing the problem, call your local plumber. Your plumber will be able to easily identify the cause of the problem and quickly repair your toilet.
