Toilet Repair in Pennsylvania

Running toilets: the silent leak

A toilet that runs after the tank has filled wastes water around the clock, and because the water goes straight down the drain, you never see it. It is the single most common reason for an unexplained jump in a water bill.

There are two usual causes:

• A worn flapper. The rubber seal at the bottom of the tank hardens and warps with age, letting water seep into the bowl. The tank refills every few minutes to make up for it, often with a short hiss.
• A fill valve set too high or failing. If the water level rises above the overflow tube, it runs straight down into the bowl. Look inside the tank: water spilling into that open tube is the giveaway.

A simple test: put a few drops of food colouring in the tank and wait twenty minutes without flushing. If colour appears in the bowl, the flapper is leaking. Our leak detection page explains how to use your water meter to confirm a toilet leak and rule out others.

Both parts are inexpensive and many homeowners replace them. The things that trip people up are buying the wrong size flapper (2-inch and 3-inch flush valves are both common) and overtightening plastic nuts on the supply connection. If the shutoff valve under the tank won’t close fully, stop there; a stuck or leaking valve is a job to hand over before it breaks.

Clogs: once is an object, often is a pattern

A toilet that clogs once usually has something in it that shouldn’t be: a toy, too much paper at once, or one of the products sold as “flushable.” Wipes, paper towels, cotton swabs and feminine products don’t break down the way toilet paper does.

A toilet that clogs regularly is telling you something else:

• A partial blockage further down. If other fixtures are slow too, or the floor drain gurgles when you flush, the restriction is in the shared drain or the main line. Drain cleaning covers how to tell how far a clog reaches.
• Roots or a damaged sewer lateral. In older Pennsylvania houses, toilets on the lowest floor are often the first to show a main-line problem. See signs of a broken sewer line.
• A weak flush. Mineral buildup in the rim holes and siphon jet, or a low water level in the tank, reduces the force of the flush.
• An older low-flow design. Some early low-flow toilets simply don’t clear waste well. Replacing the toilet is sometimes the real fix.

What you can safely try: a flange plunger (the kind with a sleeve that fits into the outlet), used with steady pushes rather than violent ones. A closet auger, designed for toilets, can reach further without scratching the porcelain. Skip chemical drain openers: they rarely work in a toilet, they can damage older pipes, and they make the water hazardous for whoever has to clear the line next.

Water around the base

Water on the floor after flushing can come from several places, and it is worth checking them in order:

1. The supply line and shutoff valve behind the toilet. Run a dry tissue along them.
2. The tank-to-bowl bolts and gasket. Drips from under the tank, not from the base.
3. Condensation. In humid summer weather, a cold tank can sweat enough to drip. It stops when the weather changes.
4. The wax ring under the toilet. If water seeps out from under the base only when you flush, the seal has failed.

A failed seal is more than a mess. Every flush pushes a little waste water under the toilet, where it soaks the subfloor, and sewer gas can escape into the room. Soft flooring, stains on the ceiling below, or a smell around the base all mean it has been going on for a while.

Replacing the seal means shutting off the water, draining the toilet, lifting it, cleaning the flange and setting it on a new seal. A plumber will also check the flange itself: a cracked, corroded or too-low flange is a common reason seals keep failing, especially in older bathrooms where the floor has been raised with new tile.

A toilet that rocks

A toilet that moves when you sit on it will eventually break its seal. Tightening the closet bolts a little can help, but overtightening cracks porcelain. If the floor is uneven, plastic shims are the right fix; if the floor is soft, the subfloor under the toilet has probably been damaged by a slow leak and needs repair before the toilet goes back down.

Gurgling and slow refills

• Gurgling in the bowl when another fixture drains means air is being pulled through the toilet’s trap. Causes include a partial blockage in the main line or a blocked plumbing vent on the roof. If several fixtures gurgle, have the main line checked.
• A slow refill usually means a partly closed shutoff valve, a clogged fill valve or, in older houses, narrowing galvanized supply pipe. If several fixtures have weak flow, see repiping.

Repair or replace the toilet?

Most toilets are worth repairing. Replacement makes sense when:

• The porcelain is cracked, in the tank or the bowl.
• It clogs regularly even though the drain line has been cleared and inspected.
• Parts for an older model are hard to find or keep failing.
• You want a lower-water toilet and the existing one is an older high-flow design.

When replacing, measure the rough-in: the distance from the wall behind the toilet to the centre of the floor bolts. Most toilets are 12-inch rough-in, but older houses sometimes have 10- or 14-inch, and a toilet that doesn’t match won’t fit. Also check the height you want: “comfort” or chair-height toilets are easier for many people.

When a toilet problem is a bigger problem

Call it in promptly if:

• Sewage comes up in the toilet or the tub when other fixtures drain. That is a main-line backup; stop using water and see sewer backup repair.
• The toilet overflows and won’t stop. Close the shutoff valve behind the toilet, or lift the float in the tank, then call. If the valve won’t turn, close the main.
• Water is leaking through the ceiling below. That usually means a failed seal or supply connection that has been leaking for some time.

For anything that is flooding the house right now, see emergency plumbing.

What affects the cost

• The part: a flapper or fill valve costs far less than lifting the toilet to replace a seal.
• The flange: repairing or replacing a damaged flange adds time, more so with cast iron in older homes.
• The subfloor: soft or rotted flooring has to be repaired before the toilet is reset.
• The drain: repeat clogs may lead to main-line drain cleaning or a camera inspection.
• Replacement: the toilet itself, haul-away of the old one, and any change in rough-in.

Ask for the price of the visit and the repair before work starts. Our page on how calls work explains what to ask on the phone.

Toilet repair questions