In the beginning, nobody takes notice of a leaky toilet, but over time, when a repair is not provided, the constant leakage may cause your water bill to hit the roof. So, it is equally important for every homeowner or renter to know how to fix a leaky toilet before calling a plumber for repair. This blog is designed to help you to know about the type of your toilet, its essential parts to find a leakage, and applying step by step fixes to repair your leaky toilet.
Everything to Know about Your Toilet
Knowing the type and parts of your toilet will help you locate the problem easily. In the USA, commonly used toilets are two-piece and gravity flush toilets. Two-piece toilets consist of two parts: the tank and the bowl, while gravity flush toilets use gravity to push the waste away by pulling water from the tank through the bowel. Now, learn about their basic parts to find the root cause of your toilet problem.
Basic Parts of Your Toilet with Functions
Following are the basic parts of the toilet which may be involved in the leakage of your toilet
- Tank which holds the water for flush
- Bowl which gathers and drains the waste away
- Flapper is a rubber valve that maintains the water flow from the tank to the bowl. Most of the leakage results from damage
- Fill Valve which is responsible for refilling the tank after each flush
- Flush Valve is directly involved release during flush
- Wax Ring is placed under the toilet base which provides a seal between the toilet and the floor
- The Supply Line that attaches the toilet to the main water supply of your home
How to find a leak
It is very easy to detect a leaky toilet by hearing running water drops or trickling. But sometimes, it becomes difficult to locate the leakage due to the silent and slow water dripping. In such cases, you should put some food color into the tank and leave it for 10-15 minutes. After that check the bowl. If the bowl has color, then your toilet is leaking. You can also use dry tissues around the base and tank of your toilet to detect slow leakage.
4 Steps of Fixing a Leaky Toilet
The following are the most typical issues that cause leaky toilets, and they can be fixed easily with simple tools and some basic repairs.
Step 1: Change the Worn-Out Flapper
The most frequent cause of leaky toilets is worn out or old flapper. A flapper is a rubber valve that acts as a seal preventing water backflow from the tank into the bowl. When this rubber gets cracked or becomes stiff over time it cannot provide the desired seal, resulting in water leakage into the bowl. First to repair the flapper shut off the water supply flush it to clear the tank, and replace the flapper with a new rubber valve. It is quite an easy way to repair toilet leakage without using any tools.
Step 2: Fill the Cracks in the Bowl or Tank
A bowl and tank are two major parts of a toilet. Any crack would cause leakage of your toilet. Small cracks can be repaired using waterproof epoxy, but larger cracks would need a plumber for leaking toilets.
Step 3: Install a New Waxing ring
As you know the wax ring acts as a seal between your toilet and the floor. Over time, this ring can become damaged and fail. To fix this issue you have to lift the toilet with a putty knife and then replace the damaged wax ring with a new one. It is quite challenging but you can do it easily with the help of a person.
Step 4: Tightens the Bolts and Replace Washer
Sometimes, the bolts between the tank and bowl get loose, causing water leakage. If leakage appears at the connection of the tank and bowl, grab a screwdriver or wrench and tighten the bolts. Do not over tighten the bolts, as they can cause cracks in your tank. If the leakage is still there, change the old washer for a new one. Make sure to shut off the water supply and empty the tank before replacing the washer.
When to Call a Plumber
After applying possible DIYs for your toilet leakage repair and the problem is still present then donot complicate things just go and call a plumber to fix your leaky toilet
If you are not comfortable applying fixes or notice multiple leaks then it would be wise to call toilet repair plumber.
Conclusion
Sometimes a leaky toilet appears as an annoying problem but in most cases, you can handle it without calling a plumber with little research and using appropriate tools. Whether the leakage is due to older flappers, damaged waxing rings or lose bolts you can repair it easily. But if the problem continues or if you do not really know where the leakage is coming from then don’t forget to call a plumber.
Want to learn toilet installation? Check out our blog: How to install a new toilet?
