Follow these tips to fix your toilet at home by yourself before calling for backup.
Do you know how to fix your toilet at home? Since you run to the bathroom multiple times each day, you’re bound to experience a toilet malfunction at some point. The good news is that most problems are easy to fix without professional help. Follow these simple steps to resolve your toilet woes, and if they don’t work, you know it’s time to call out a plumber.
Toilet Keeps Running and Running and Running
How long does your toilet run after you flush it? It should take less than a minute to fill back up after each use. If you notice your toilet continues to run for several minutes, a leak in the tank is most likely to blame.
Open the tank and look inside. You should see a chain and a flapper. When you push the handle, the chain lifts the flapper to drain the tank. Almost immediately, the flapper should go back down and seal the hole. If it doesn’t, water will continue to leak from the tank, and your toilet will run indefinitely.
To resolve this, check the seal around the flapper. Look for any foreign objects blocking the seal. Even a tiny piece of paper can prevent a proper seal. Wipe the area around the hole and clean the flapper. Try flushing again, and if it stops running, you fixed the problem! Hooray!
However, if the toilet continues to run after cleaning the flapper, you may need to call out a plumber. They will install a new flapper to ensure your toilet stops running around the clock. Lucky for you, this repair is fast and affordable.
The Water Levels Rises to the Top
Watching the water rise to the top of the bowl after flushing is enough to make your heart skip a beat. Typically when this happens, there is a blockage in the pipe. Plunging the toilet should fix the situation right away.
Make sure you keep a plunger handy in case of an emergency like this. Pouring baking soda and vinegar down the toilet may help to break up more stubborn clogs. Continue plunging to loosen whatever is blocking the pipe. Try flushing again, and in most instances, you won’t have any more problems.
But, if the water continues to rise after plunging, the clog is probably deeper than you anticipated. Furthermore, if the water overflows over the rim, a sewer blockage may be to blame. In these instances, you need to hire a plumber to handle the dirty work for you.
The Toilet Won’t Flush at All
There’s nothing worse than doing your business, only to discover that the toilet won’t flush at all. Before you break out in sweats, you need to examine the situation. Try pressing the handle again. Does it seem loose or wiggle a lot? If so, then you may have a disconnected chain.
Simply open the tank and look for the chain. It clips to both the handle and the flapper. If the chain is floating in the water, you need to reconnect it. There should be a hook to reattach it to either the flapper or handle. Once it’s back in place, the toilet should flush again.
However, if you open the tank only to find it’s completely empty, you have another situation on your hands entirely. This scenario usually indicates a blockage in the fill valve. Since this issue is a lot trickier to resolve, you need to find a local plumber to handle it for you.
The Right Plumber for Any Toilet Repair
You shouldn’t put off repairing your toilet. Even if the problem seems like a small nuisance, it may lead to a costlier problem down the road. A running toilet may cause your water bill to skyrocket. A problem with the sewer line may affect the rest of your drains. To prevent this from happening, call the expert team at Sav-On Plumbing for all of your toilet issues, no matter how big or small.
When you choose Sav-On Plumbing, you can rest assured you’re getting the best plumbers in the business. With over 40 years of hands-on experience, there’s no problem we haven’t seen. From unclogging toilets to total pipe replacements, we do it all. Before you try to fix your toilet at home, connect with us to schedule service from the most skilled plumbers in your neighborhood.