Whether you live in the Village of Mineola, Nassau County, or anywhere in New York, you should fix running toilets sooner, not later. Problems with running toilets costs you more than you may imagine. A modern flush toilet is designed to be convenient, and more importantly hygienic. Many models have a lot of parts working together that create a proper flushing mechanism. This keeps the fixture itself clean and free from bacteria. The design of a flush toilet has not changed much since the late 19th century. This means you may encounter the same problem that your great grandparents did a long time ago: running toilets.
You may have a running toilet if each flush does not end with the usual gurgle and quietness. If instead you get a hissing sound, with water keeps running into the bowl – that is running toilet. While the toilet can still flush without issues, the problem will become a major annoyance. When you and your family are lying in bed at night, you’ll hear that constant sound of running water throughout your home. Besides your annoyance, it will lead to you getting an unusually high water bill. That in itself is a great reason to fix running toilets in your home.
[box type=”info”] Even if a running toilet is not leaking excessively, you will waste about 6,000 gallons of water per month. That equals about 72,000 gallons of water a year, or almost 200 gallons a day. This same average size leak will cost you around $70 per month, or almost $1,000 per year on your water bill. Fixing running toilets, even if you completely replace your toilet, will cost less than the water wasted, and charged on your water bill.[/box]
Some basic toilet knowledge
Before you try to fix running toilets on your own, please make sure you know how a flush toilet works. A basic understanding of the flushing mechanism should help you make the necessary repairs. The last thing you want is to cause further damage to the fixture and plumbing installation.
1. As you press the handle, a valve (usually a flap) opens and lets water from the tank flow into the bowl. It simply drains the water in the tank. When the water level in the bowl drops, the flap will drop and back to its initial position.
2. At the same time as the water tank is draining, a float also flows down in the same direction as the water. With this movement, a lever mechanism attached to the float opens the refill valve. Because the flap is now in a closed position, water can refill the tank without leaking. As water flows into the tank, the float moves up again to close the refill valve.
3. A small amount of water also flows into the overflow tube and goes directly into the bowl so you get powerful flush the next time.
The design of the float and flapper can be different depending on the model. These are of course an oversimplification of flush toilet mechanisms. Your specific model may feature more modern (or traditional) float and flush valve designs, but the principle remains. Based on the explanation, a running toilet is possibly caused by the malfunction of either flapper or float:
- A flapper that does not completely close the flush valve will allow water to continuously flow from the tank into the bowl
- A float that fails to close the refill valve will keep sending water to the tank and through overflow tube into the bowl as well
The degree of difficulty to in fixing running toilets can vary
Either way, you get a running toilet. To fix running toilets can be simple, in some cases your toilets failure to function properly due to damages, you may need to replace them. You have to open the toilet tank to access those parts. Don’t worry about the water in the tank; it comes from the supply line, so it is clean.
Identify the problem first, and then determine what kind of repair is necessary. If you are not sure about what to do or what replacement parts to get, call a professional. The Balkan Team is relatively new in the Village of Mineola, Nassau County. However, Balkan has been in business in NYC for more than six decades. In fact, it is the most experienced reputable plumbing company in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. If you need fast and accurate service or advice, contact the Balkan Team any time of any day.
