Toilet Constantly Running

Your toilet flushes just fine, but it doesn’t know when to quit. Perhaps it stops running and then starts up again suddenly or constantly leaks into the bowl. Either way, it’s wasting a lot of water and making that noise that keeps you up at night. Fortunately, it’s usually not difficult to repair your toilet, if you know a bit about how they work. Be systematic about tracking down the problem. There are only so many things that can go wrong inside a toilet tank.

Why is that toilet running.

If you’ve waited long enough after flushing and the toilet hasn’t quit running, lift the tank lid and look in.

The most common cause of a running toilet is a damaged flapper or flush valve. A flush valve is a self-closing valve designed to release a large amount of water when activated. Your toilets flapper seals the flush valve making sure water flows out only during a flush. If the toilet stops filling and then starts again intermittently or water constantly runs into the bowl, you have a slow leak from the tank into the bowl. If the tank is not full and it is not filling, chances are that the flapper is stuck open. Clean or replace the flapper or flush valve.

Check the fill valve

A fill valve is the device that’s responsible for filling and regulating the water level in the toilet tank. There are many reasons on why your fill valve would have quit working it could be mineral deposits, clogged valve, or it could be old or damaged.

The toilet handle

When you push the handle, the chain lifts the flapper, letting a tankful of water fall through the opening in the bottom, into the bowl. As the water level drops, the flapper drops and closes the opening.

If your handle isn’t working properly and doesn’t return to the original position after you flush, that handle can let more unnecessary water in the tank. This can cause the toilet to run randomly.

Check the chain

There is a chain that connects the flush lever to the flapper. This chain allows the flapper to lift up-and-down when the toilet is flushed. If the chain is too long or too short, this can interfere with function of the flapper. If it’s too long the chain can get caught between the tank and the flapper, or if the chain is too short, the flapper won’t close.

Not enough or too much water

If water levels in the tank are not right, this can cause a toilet to run randomly. You want the water to rest 1-2 inches below the fill valve. If levels seem higher or lower, your water may be off-balance.

Are you not sure if your toilet is running? There is a simple way to test you can do to see if parts need to be replaced, try a few drops of food coloring in the tank of your toilet and wait. If you see color in your bowl of your toilet without flushing, that can be a good sign that one of those parts could need repair or replacing. Before you do any repairs, you want to make sure you turn off the water to your toilet. Which is the shut off valve located behind the toilet. If you have a running toilet and aren’t really sure what the problem is give Duncan Plumbing a call today 972-937-0040.