Probably one of the more common plumbing problems we get asked to attend to and it can also be one of the most frustrating and harder plumbing problems to fix, is a running toilet.
Many of our customers will attempt to fix a running toilet themselves through buying parts at Mitre 10, Tradelink, Reece, Samios, Scotts or Bunnings and find that the part they have purchased doesn’t fit or the problem still won’t go away, that’s typically when we will get the phone call to come and assist with the leaking toilet cistern.
Today majority of cisterns for toilets are still installed on top of the toilet and easily accessible, but the growing trend of putting cisterns in the wall is slowly taking over.
What this means is that the harder the cistern is to access the longer and harder it is for a master plumber to now fix. Although in wall cisterns are nice and compact its after 4 or 5 years and they start to need maintenance they can be a plumber’s nightmare as there is no visual on seeing what you are doing and it all reliant upon touch and feel.
What can go wrong with a toilet and make it constantly run?
Failing outlet seal rubber: The outlet rubber seal is located inside the cistern at the bottom of the cistern and is engaged when the flush buttons are pressed the rubber seal will lift off the seat and allow water into the cistern. Over time this rubber can perish or develop blisters which cause it not to seal.
Water inlet valve not shutting off: If the water inlet valve is not shutting off it will keep filling the cistern and the excess water will go down the over flow tube and keep running into the toilet pan itself.
Sticky flush buttons:
With some of the older style toilet cisterns the plastic mechanisms tend to wear out and then get stuck each time the toilet is flushed. Unfortunately, when this happens usually time for a new outlet flush button kit or if the cistern is very old it’s time for a new cistern itself.
Pneumatic valve bellows:
In wall toilet cisterns rely upon the compression of pneumatic
valve bellows to engage the flushing mechanism inside the cistern and dispense water into the toilet pan. Over time these develop a split in them and can then cause the toilets cistern to keep running. This fault is probably one of the easiest fixes when it comes to in wall toilet cisterns.
Donut seal:
The majority of toilet suites today where the cistern sits on the toilet pan are connected via to stainless steel bolts and a donut foam or rubber seal. Over time this seal can start to leak and cause the toilet pan to start running and leaking water onto the floor of the bathroom. You will notice a fault like this showing each time the toilet is flushed. This will require the cistern to be removed etc and can take around 1.5 hours approximately.
How long does it take to fix a running toilet?
This is another question we often get asked prior to attending a toilet repair, how long will it take? For most toilet cistern repairs where the toilet is out of the wall, and we do not need to remove the toilet from the pan we suggest ¾ of an hour. If the toilet needs to be removed from the toilet itself, then we suggest 1.5 hours. For all inwall toilet cistern repairs we recommend 1 hour minimum and potentially 2 separate visits as most parts for these are not off the shelf and need to be ordered in.
What are some of the more common toilet part brands?
In Adelaide there are many brands of toilets and most of them tend to use the same parts internally just externally look different. The more common brands on the market are:
- Caroma
- Raymor
- Dorf
- Brent
- Valsir
- Duplo Schwab
- Dux
- Johnson Suisse
- Gemini
- Vitra,
Serel - Ceramica
- Wickes
- Sanindusa
- Novelli
- Kohler
- Geberit
- Grohe
- Viega
- Fluid Master
- Fix a loo
- Fowler
- Performa
- Dura
Is it important to get a running toilet fixed quickly?
Did you know that one of the main contributing factors to excess water use and high SA Water bills is leaking toilets. In many homes today people have multiple toilets and if each of them is leaking its hundreds of litres of water disappearing down the drain a month.
At Mayfair Plumbing we recommend getting all types of plumbing issues addressed asap toavoid nasty high utility bills at the end of the quarter.
