Question 1

How do you stop a running toilet?

Accepted Answer

A toilet that keeps running has one of two faults: the fill valve isn't shutting off when the cistern is full, or the flush valve is letting water leak straight through into the pan. Take the cistern lid off and watch it fill — if the water rises past the fill line and into the overflow, it's the fill valve; if the level is fine but water still trickles into the pan, it's the flush valve. Diagnosing this is genuinely a matter of taking the lid off and looking, which is why it's worth doing before you call anyone. Everything you need to see is in there. If the water level keeps climbing and disappears down the overflow, the fill valve isn't closing. Sometimes the float is simply set too high and needs adjusting down; sometimes the valve is worn and wants replacing. Either way the water is running to waste continuously. If the level settles where it should but you can still hear a trickle, water is escaping past the flush valve seal at the bottom of the cistern. Grit under the seal, a perished flapper washer, or a warped valve all do this — and this is the leaky loo, the one that wastes water constantly without leaving a single visible drip. United Utilities put a North West leaky loo at 200 to 400 litres a day, and up to £400 a year if you're on a meter, which is a lot of money to spend on a worn rubber washer. The parts are inexpensive and widely available. The catch is that some concealed and close-coupled cisterns are genuinely awkward to get into, and modern push-button flush units come in a bewildering number of near-identical variants — which is why plumbers photograph the mechanism before they go to buy the part.

Question 2

What should I do if my toilet keeps running?

Accepted Answer

A toilet that keeps running has one of two faults: the fill valve isn't shutting off when the cistern is full, or the flush valve is letting water leak straight through into the pan. Take the cistern lid off and watch it fill — if the water rises past the fill line and into the overflow, it's the fill valve; if the level is fine but water still trickles into the pan, it's the flush valve. Diagnosing this is genuinely a matter of taking the lid off and looking, which is why it's worth doing before you call anyone. Everything you need to see is in there. If the water level keeps climbing and disappears down the overflow, the fill valve isn't closing. Sometimes the float is simply set too high and needs adjusting down; sometimes the valve is worn and wants replacing. Either way the water is running to waste continuously. If the level settles where it should but you can still hear a trickle, water is escaping past the flush valve seal at the bottom of the cistern. Grit under the seal, a perished flapper washer, or a warped valve all do this — and this is the leaky loo, the one that wastes water constantly without leaving a single visible drip. United Utilities put a North West leaky loo at 200 to 400 litres a day, and up to £400 a year if you're on a meter, which is a lot of money to spend on a worn rubber washer. The parts are inexpensive and widely available. The catch is that some concealed and close-coupled cisterns are genuinely awkward to get into, and modern push-button flush units come in a bewildering number of near-identical variants — which is why plumbers photograph the mechanism before they go to buy the part.

Question 3

Why won't my toilet stop filling?

Accepted Answer

A toilet that keeps running has one of two faults: the fill valve isn't shutting off when the cistern is full, or the flush valve is letting water leak straight through into the pan. Take the cistern lid off and watch it fill — if the water rises past the fill line and into the overflow, it's the fill valve; if the level is fine but water still trickles into the pan, it's the flush valve. Diagnosing this is genuinely a matter of taking the lid off and looking, which is why it's worth doing before you call anyone. Everything you need to see is in there. If the water level keeps climbing and disappears down the overflow, the fill valve isn't closing. Sometimes the float is simply set too high and needs adjusting down; sometimes the valve is worn and wants replacing. Either way the water is running to waste continuously. If the level settles where it should but you can still hear a trickle, water is escaping past the flush valve seal at the bottom of the cistern. Grit under the seal, a perished flapper washer, or a warped valve all do this — and this is the leaky loo, the one that wastes water constantly without leaving a single visible drip. United Utilities put a North West leaky loo at 200 to 400 litres a day, and up to £400 a year if you're on a meter, which is a lot of money to spend on a worn rubber washer. The parts are inexpensive and widely available. The catch is that some concealed and close-coupled cisterns are genuinely awkward to get into, and modern push-button flush units come in a bewildering number of near-identical variants — which is why plumbers photograph the mechanism before they go to buy the part.

How do you stop a running toilet?

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