Troubleshooting
Toilet Keeps Running? Here's the Fix
A toilet that keeps running is almost always the rubber flap at the bottom of the tank, called the flapper. It has gone stiff or worn, so it no longer seals and water trickles from the tank into the bowl forever. It is usually a cheap fix, and worth doing quickly: the EPA says a constantly running toilet can waste 200 gallons a day or more, and a stuck fill valve can waste over 4,000.
What to do right now
- Do the food colouring test. Put a few drops of food colouring in the tank, do not flush, and wait about ten minutes. If colour appears in the bowl, water is leaking past the flapper. This is the EPA's own test and it takes a minute.
- Take the lid off and look. If water is running into the open overflow tube, the fill valve or the float is the problem. If the water level is fine but you still hear trickling, it is the flapper.
- Check the chain. It should have a small amount of slack, just enough that the flapper sits flat. Too tight and it holds the flap open.
- Wiggle the handle. If the running stops when you jiggle it, the flapper is not seating on its own, which confirms it.
- Turn off the little valve on the wall behind the toilet if you need to stop the waste tonight and cannot get it fixed until tomorrow.
Likely causes
- The flapper, the rubber flap at the bottom of the tank, has gone hard or warped and no longer seals. The EPA says this is the most common cause of a leaking toilet.
- The chain to the flapper is too short or caught, holding it slightly open so it can never fully close.
- The fill valve, the tall part that refills the tank, does not shut off properly, so water keeps pouring in and out through the overflow tube.
- The float is set too high, so the tank fills past the overflow tube and drains down it continuously.
- Arizona's hard water leaves mineral deposits on the flapper and the seat it sits against, which stops a good seal even when the parts look fine.
When to call a pro
If the quick fixes do not solve it, this is usually a toilet repair & installation job. Liberty dispatches 24/7 with upfront pricing.
Toilet Keeps Running? Here's the Fix, FAQ
- How much water does a running toilet actually waste?
- More than most people expect. The EPA puts a constantly running toilet at 200 gallons a day or more, and a stuck fill valve at over 4,000 gallons a day. They also estimate the average household wastes about 9,400 gallons a year on leaks, and that fixing them cuts roughly 10 percent off a water bill.
- It only runs sometimes, not constantly. Still a problem?
- Yes, and it is the same cause. A flapper that seals badly will sometimes hold and sometimes not. Intermittent running is an early flapper, and it gets worse, not better.
- Can I just replace the flapper myself?
- Many people do. It is a common part and it does not need tools. If you replace it and the toilet still runs, the problem is the seat the flapper closes against or the fill valve, and that is worth having looked at rather than buying parts one at a time.
- Why does this keep happening to the same toilet?
- Usually mineral build-up on the flapper seat from hard water. New rubber against a rough, scaled seat will not seal for long. The seat itself needs cleaning or replacing, not just another flapper.
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