I look at the clock. It's 12:05 AM, and I hear the sound of water running. I wonder if my son has gotten up in the middle of the night to pee, but then I go back to sleep. At 3:20, I hear the sound again, and I'm doubting that my son is the cause. My toilet is leaking. This goes on for a couple of weeks, and the issue steadily gets worse. The sound is also waking me up, so I've got to do something about it.
Next comes a trip to my favorite home improvement store. I stare at the aisle of toilet parts for a few minutes. Toilets must be big business. I look at the various kits, but settle on a flapper kit (about $3). Why replace all the parts when all you need to do is fix the part that's busted? I might adjust this plan if I just moved into an old house or knew the toilet has not been rebuilt for 10 years or something like that. I put new kits in all our toilets shortly after we moved in, so I'm pretty sure the rest of the parts are good. I take the flapper to the leaking toilet and don't even need to take any tools.
Install is easy:
- Shut off water supply
- Flush
- Unclip old flapper, take chain off handle, and remove
- Clip in new flapper
- Hook chain on handle (Note: chain should have enough slack to allow the flapper to close completely, but not overly loose)
- Turn water supply back on
- Optional: use of the facilities
- Test flush (if the water stops, you're in good shape)
 |
| New Flapper |
The whole thing takes 10 minutes, and I'm pouring the bourbon in record time. Think I'm done? Nope. A few nights later, I hear a different toilet run for about 10 seconds and then stop. Crap... Am I the only person this happens to? We have 4 toilets on 3 floors, and I have only repaired one of them. The next day, I'm at Lowe's buying more parts. I'm in the toilet aisle for 10 seconds before I come to the conclusion that they have all decided to die at the same time. I'm not above killing ants with baseball bats, so I purchase 3 more flappers. I also throw in a handle for the basement unit (action is starting to get sloppy). Within 20 minutes, all flappers are replaced. The basement handle is fairly simple to install, and soon it's flushing like it never has before.
Think I'm done? No, my crappy luck continues for one more stretch. The kit I installed in the master bath about 2 years ago has a feature to control leaking. A small arm with a sharp end comes down and locks the float in the up position when it hits the top. A separate chain pulls the arm up when you hit the flusher. That way, a leaky flapper doesn't drain your local water tower. The arm has started sticking at least 50% the time, which results in a very low volume flush. This isn't good when you have a heavy doody. I thought the kit had a defective part when I installed it, but I didn't feel like undoing the hour of work I put into the job. I just fiddled with it until it worked.
Another run down the toilet aisle at Lowe's, and I've got a new fill valve (about $10).
 |
| I've had good luck with Fluidmaster |
Again, install is fairly simple:
• Shut off water supply
• Flush
• Empty toilet (I used a small plastic cup to drain residual water)
• Undo the the nut that holds the feed hose in place
• Undo chains
• Unclip bowl fill hose
• Undo the nut that holds the fill valve in place and remove
• Set height on new fill valve and install seal (this may be a scientific process, but I just set it the same as the last one)
• Install new fill valve with float at 5 o'clock position
• Clip new bowl fill hose on stalk (new one has a water saver feature, but don't have the patience to figure out how to install it)
• Put nuts back on (not too tight, porcelain will crack if you use Incredible Hulk strength)
• Set chains to the same spec as the flapper install
• Turn on water supply
• Make sure tank doesn't leak at the fill valve
• Test flush and leak guard function
 |
| New Fill Valve. Note the tension on the chains |
Now, she's flushing with authority. I'd list the TTR (time to repair), but my 4 year old son was helping out with this one. He easily doubles the TTR, but I truly enjoy having him help. He learns about how things work, does part of the repair work, and gets tons of praise during the project.
Summary:
- You need to think about toilet maintenance about every 5 years
- Only put in the parts you need
- If you're thinking about repairing one, think about the rest of them
- Water leaks usually start slow and get steadily worse
- If the kit is old or seals look questionable, put in the entire kit
- This is easy stuff, don't be scared of a toilet rebuild
Want to read a humorous story about our half bath? Click here.
