Answered: Why Won't My Toilet Quit Running and Five Other Plumbing Issues

Is your toilet running? Creepy gurgling noise emitting from your toilet bowl? From water leakages to odd noises, toilets can do all sorts of frustrating things.

Thankfully, with a little troubleshooting, there are numerous toilet problems you can fix on your own. Here, the experts at Ameri-Tec will go over some of the most prevalent toilet problems, what they mean and whether it’s a situation you can fix yourself—or, if it is better to call in an expert.

1. Why Won't My Toilet Stop Running?

If your toilet won't stop running, it is a situation you should fix because it's in all probability also costing you money on your water bill.

A common cause of a running toilet is something wrong with the overflow tube. Found in the tank in the back of your toilet, an overflow tube allows extra water to drain from the tank into your toilet bowl so the water level in your tank does not get too high and leak all over your floor. Occasionally, the problem is that the plastic tube connecting your fill valve to your overflow tube has become detached. If that’s the scenario, you should be able to reach into the tank and reattach them. It also could be your toilet is running simply because the overflow tube is is not tall enough to maintain the correct water level and needs to be replaced by one that is the appropriate height.

Another factor causing a toilet to run could be the flapper--which serves as a plug in the bottom of your tank—has malfunctioned and no longer forms the tight seal needed to hold water in the tank. This enables water to seep through or around the damaged flapper and leak out the bottom of your tank into your toilet bowl.

At times, a running toilet is caused by something amiss with your toilet float, which is a floating device that maintains the water level in your tank. It does this by shutting off your fill valve when the water level raises the float to the appropriate height. If your float is set too high, this will allow the water level to rise too high, and the extra water will flow into your overflow tube and down into your toilet bowl.

2. Why Does My Toilet Keep Gurgling?

A gurgling toilet is often caused by a partial obstruction in your toilet, drain lines, mainline or something blocking your sewage vent. If the problem is a clog in your toilet, you can try to fix this by using a plunger or drain snake to release the clog. If this does not have any effect, you can look at where your sewage vent exits your home to ensure it is not blocked by debris that would block air flow.

If you've confirmed the problem isn't a clog in the toilet or a vent obstruction, you should contact a professional such an expert from Ameri-Tec to evaluate the problem. As the go-to plumber in Narvon, Ameri-Tec will investigate whether the noise is caused by a blockage in one of the drain lines directing toilet water out of your home or the mainline that carries waste water away from your home to the municipal water system.

4. Why Is It Hard to Flush My Toilet?

If it's difficult to flush your toilet, it's probable that the problem is with the chain, flapper or the handle. That’s because there’s a chain within the toilet tank that is attached to the back side of the handle. The other end of the chain is connected to the flapper, which functions as a plug in the bottom of your toilet tank.

The best way to find out why your toilet is challenging to flush is to remove the lid, look inside the tank and investigate.

Here’s how the process ought to work anytime you flush a toilet: you push down the handle, which pulls up the chain, then the chain pulls the flapper up and that allows the water to flow out of your tank and into your toilet bowl.

Sometimes a toilet will never flush because the chain is snagged on something within the tank, which keeps the chain from pulling up the flapper to let out the water. Or, the chain is too long or somehow comes unhooked from either the handle or the flapper. If this happens, unhook the caught chain or reach in and change it to the appropriate length.

Sometimes flappers can get stuck as they age or become worn out. Or, there may be something wrong with the handle.

5. Why Is My Toilet Leaking?

A dripping toilet can be a costly problem, potentially causing water damage in and around your bathroom. Many times, a leaky toilet is caused by a cracked supply line or a crack in the toilet tank. If your toilet tank is overflowing, it is often because there is a malfunction in the toilet float.

Cracked gaskets around the connections on the underside of the tank also can permit water to leak out of the toilet, as can a weakened toilet flange or wax ring at the base of the toilet where it connects to the floor. Most of these issues are best fixed by a professional plumber. 

6. Why Won't My Toilet Fill With Water?

A toilet that isn't filling with water frequently suggests a problem with the fill valve, which fills the tank in the back of your toilet with water. If the tube is damaged or is plugged by rust, sediment or mineral buildup, it might not be allowing water into the tank.

Another common cause for your toilet not filling with water is something wrong with the float, which is a device that triggers the fill valve to stop bringing water into the tank when the water has risen to the correct level. The fill valve gives the signal to stop when the water level lifts the float to a set height. It might be that the float/float assembly needs adjustment so that the water can attain the correct level. Or, correcting a toilet not filling with water may require adjusting or replacing the fill valve.