Welcome back to our three part series on toilet leak part. This is continuation of part 1 of Toilet Leak Repair, How to Repair a Toilet Leak
Chances are that you’ve had to pay someone to come do toilet leak repair at some point in your life. If not, your day is coming! Sometimes there are leaks that don’t require a professional plumber, though. In these cases, it is pretty easy for you to perform your own toilet leak repair just by having some basic knowledge and armed with a few easy steps. If your toilet is leaking, you have to find out what the culprit is first. Here are some common toilet leaks that you can probably fix by yourself. Of course, if it’s more complex or you aren’t comfortable messing with it, then by all means call a plumber to give you a hand.
Leaking Flush Valve
There are several reasons that you may have a leaking flush valve. First, the flush ball can start to rot or simply wears out. It can also start to lose its shape, meaning it won’t fit snugly over the valve where it should. The second reason can be that there is dirt or rust on the valve, which doesn’t let the flush ball snugly seat in like it should. Lastly, the metal rod that the flush ball is connected to becomes bent out of shape or somehow stuck. If that happens, the flush ball can’t seat properly into the valve.
Shut off your water supply to find out what the problem is. You can usually do it locally, somewhere behind the toilet you can find a small shut off valve. In the rare instance that there isn’t one, you gotta go to the main source and shut it off. If you prefer, you can lift the copper float that is inside the toilet tank and fix it so that the inlet valve is kept closed.
Now that you have the water off, take out the flush ball and look it over. Is it worn? Has it been bent out of shape? If so, you’ll need to replace it. Now look into the valve seat and see if there is rust or dirt hanging out in there. Scrape any rust and wipe away any dirt. If you get it smooth again, you can screw the flush ball back into place.
Check to ensure everything is back in place properly. Do this by pushing the flushing handle and watching to see if the parts open and close like they should. The ball should seat into the valve when the handle swing closes. If it isn’t, check the rod that the ball is connected to. Is it bent? Is the guide arm positioned above the valve seat? While you’re in there, check to see if the rod is rusted. If so, you should go ahead and replace it.
Leaking Drops from Condensation
While condensation isn’t necessarily a leak, it is a common problem that many people find annoying. It can drip water onto the floor making it seem like there may be a leak. Over the course of time, it can be just as damaging to the floor. To help remedy the condensation, you can cover the tank with cold-water pipe insulation then put something over top of that so it isn’t so unsightly. You could use sheet plastic or linoleum. Plumbing stores often carry drip pans you can use, too.
Toilet Leak Repair, How to Repair a Toilet Leak (Part 1) and be sure to check out more from out toilet repair section. As always if you can’t repair your toilet then allplumbingrepair.com is here to help with easy to use plumber repair quote form.
