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Do-it-yourself Repairs: Running Toilet
Extremely common issue, and easy to repair yourself. 10 mins - Difficulty: ♦♦
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A running toilet can be easily fixed by a DIY-er with a toilet rebuild kit. Check the complete kit in Amazon below. These kits typically contain straightforward and easy-to-follow instructions. If you have a one-piece or specialty toilet, these can be tricky and might need the professional touch, or if you would rather not mess with it, contact Tinker Home Repair for assistance. Hayseed Farm has a great tutorial, I've put at the botton of this page, using the Fluidmaster products I recommend and have linked here.
1. Don the appropriate PPE, then remove the toilet tank lid, setting aside carefully. Inspect the components inside, There will be an fill valve (in the center, see first picture below), and a fill tube that refills by going into the valve stem. Ensure that the fill tube is held in place by a clip or small plastic bracket. If the fill tube is attached properly, continue to next step
2. Check the flapper at the bottom of the tank, often installers will forget to trim the chain that connects the interior handle to the flapper, allowing it to become caught under the flapper preventing it from fully sealing. If this is the case, using snips, or angle cutters, trim the excess chain. Another issue with flappers is that they can warp over time, if your chain is trimmed and the flapper still refuses to seal properly you may need a flapper replacement (See Amazon links below). There are two sizes, most of the toilets are the 2 inch size with the 3 inch size growing in popularity with new toilets since 2005.
3. Another potential cause of a running toilet is the tank water level being set too high and draining into the overflow tube. There are multiple different types of float valve, older models have a rubber bobber, I reccomend replacing with a newer style (see below). To adjust the the float valve simply use a phillips head screw driver to "loosen" the plastic adjustment screw located near the top of the float valve.
Ideally the water level in your tank should be between 1/2 in -1 in from the top of the fill valve tube hole.
Hopefully this quick guide can assist you in repairing a running toilet. If the problem persists you may need professional assistance.
