Toilet problem

[Howard]

Got a toilet that leaks water from the bowl. When there's water in the tank, you can hear leaking/dripping noises. Pushing down moderately forcefully on the light blue flapper will stop the sound. What do I need to replace?

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

the flapper and it's seal ring

 

[woodie1]

Look at the surface of the flapper that seals against the seal ring. Sometimes a small amount of debris gets on there and allows water to leak into the bowl.

 

[Howard]

What is the seal ring? The black rubber ring shown in the picture does not contact the flapper. Rather, the flapper drops right onto a hard (white) plastic tube which seems to allow the tank water to drain out.

 

[zzuupp]

Originally posted by: woodie1
Look at the surface of the flapper that seals against the seal ring. Sometimes a small amount of debris gets on there and allows water to leak into the bowl.

Excellent 1st step.
In the area, does it look like the chain has pulled the flapper askew?

 

[OUCaptain]

Seriously Howard? I expected more from you. Head to the hardware store and get a full tank kit for around 20 bucks.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: OUCaptain
Seriously Howard? I expected more from you. Head to the hardware store and get a full tank kit for around 20 bucks.

Are the parts standard?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: zzuupp

Originally posted by: woodie1
Look at the surface of the flapper that seals against the seal ring. Sometimes a small amount of debris gets on there and allows water to leak into the bowl.

Excellent 1st step.
In the area, does it look like the chain has pulled the flapper askew?

No, there's still some slack in the chain when the flapper has dropped all the way.

 

[Bulk Beef]

Bull's Eye

 

[Red Squirrel]

I've seen this often where the chain pulls it too much in an angle then the flap does not land back properly. You can pend the handle rod a bit to try to make it pull more in the right angle but sometimes this is only a temp fix.

Really the pressure from the water falling in should suck the flap back down but sometimes it wont. I don't know what's up with us but we are very hard on toilets, I've seen all sorts of interesting issues which I was sometimes able to fix, while others just kept coming back.

 

[OUCaptain]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: OUCaptain
Seriously Howard? I expected more from you. Head to the hardware store and get a full tank kit for around 20 bucks.

Are the parts standard?

Every crapper i've see in the US are fairly standard. There's only three holes and despite the filler location, the sizes are standard. If for some reason it doesn't fit, just take it back and exchange it. If in doubt, dis-assemble the old components and them with you. You won't be the first to take toilet parts into a hardware store. Again, if in doubt, ask the plumbing guy. While most hardware store employees aren't the brightest in the world, I've found the plumbing and electrical department guys to be pretty reliable.

 

[iGas]

Flappers are pretty much standard, and a replacement flapper shouldn't be more than $5 at the local hardware store (homedepot, etc...).

 

[OUCaptain]

Originally posted by: iGas

Flappers are pretty much standard, and a replacement flapper shouldn't be more than $5 at the local hardware store (homedepot, etc...).

could also be the re-fill valve

 

[iGas]

Originally posted by: OUCaptain

Originally posted by: iGas

Flappers are pretty much standard, and a replacement flapper shouldn't be more than $5 at the local hardware store (homedepot, etc...).

could also be the re-fill valve

Could be a valve as said, but he did mentioned that it shut off when he pushes on the flapper instead of water flow over top of the overflow tube.

 

[OUCaptain]

Originally posted by: iGas

Originally posted by: OUCaptain

Originally posted by: iGas

Flappers are pretty much standard, and a replacement flapper shouldn't be more than $5 at the local hardware store (homedepot, etc...).

could also be the re-fill valve

Could be a valve as said, but he did mentioned that it shut off when he pushes on the flapper instead of water flow over top of the overflow tub.

Oh yeah. With slack in the chain, definitely flapper.

Unless money is a major concern, might as well replace all the guts. The amount of work is about the same and you have a whole new toilet (porcelaindoesn't were out right?) for just a bit more cash.

 

[Bulk Beef]

Originally posted by: Bulk Beef
Bull's Eye

To clarify:

Bull's Eye toilet flapper

or:

Fill valve and flapper kit

This stuff is cheap enough that it's worth having spares at home.

 

[Skeeedunt]

I replaced just the flapper on mine and it solved the same issue. Someone suggested I might as well replace everything while I was in there, but that seemed like considerably more work (the flapper took all of 30 seconds).

Does the rest of it just pop out easily? Looked more complicated than that.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The fill valve part is probably the most complex, and is not that complicated. I recently replaced the one in our toilet as it was not sensing water level properly. You just have to make sure everything is tight or you'll get external leaks which would be bad. Would flood the basement as it would just keep flowing non stop. So need to really be sure you have zero cracks where the water can come out. It's all hand tightened though. Not even a screw driver or thread tape needed as it's plastic fittings and there's rubber seals. Then you just turn the dial to adjust how high it fills.

In this particular case though it sounds like it's just the flapper. Quick way to find out is if you shut off the water and still hear water leakage, then it's the flap.

 

[Howard]

I know it's got something to do with the flapper, when I push down on it to improve the seal the water stops leaking.

 

[slayer202]

stop having sex with your toilet

 

[Auggie]

Call up Wilson Flanges and Countersinks... they'll guarantee that you maintain full valve functionality from 7,000 RQMs up to 8, 9 or even 10,000 RQMs. That's right! 10,000!

 

[Howard]

Replacing the flapper solved the problem. Thanks d00dz.