Common Causes of Toilet Leaks
There is no question that issues regarding the plumbing of one’s home are inherently important to rectify. Whether it be a plumbing service that needs to be put in the hands of a professional, or an issue with the toilet that can be remedied by a simple do-it-yourself procedure, a homeowner doesn’t want to wait long to fix the issue.
The plumbing within a home is a complex and relevant system, and thankfully not all the problems associated with it are too oppressive for a common person to handle. There are copious amounts of common problems associated with the plumbing, especially those that concern a toilet. Here are three common causes of a leaky toilet and simple tips on fixing them yourself.
The Phantom Flush
A toilet leak is awful and is a sure fire way to give anyone occupying a home the worst kind of headache. One common cause of these sort of leaks is sometimes referred as a “phantom flush”. This happens when a toilet cuts on and off by itself, causing you to hear your toilet refill as if it was recently flushed. This typical problem is caused by a slow leak from the tank of the toilet to its bowl.
The simple solution for those wanting to fix this problem on their own is by draining both the tank and the bowl, followed by a thorough inspection of the flapper seat and replacing the flapper if it seems like it is too worn to continue on. This is one of the many easy DIY plumbing fixes that will take away the leak from a toilet.
Leaky Seals
Another common toilet leak comes from the seals of the toilet. The first step is to understand which of the seals leaks after each flush. There will be at least five seals that have the potential to leak. The solution is to replace or tighten a loose seal by first draining and removing the tank. It may take some muscle, but fixing a leaky seal may just solve the problem without calling for a professional plumbing service.
Tank Problems
The last DIY plumbing fixes of a toilet leak rests within the tank. Sometimes water will leak into the tank from a supply line. Check your refill tube, float and ballcock of your toilet, as they can be the cause of the problem. Sometimes the refill tube and float will become unaligned and need adjusting. Put them into their proper alignment and the problem should be fixed unless the ballcock needs replacing, which should eventually solve the issue of water leaking into the tank from the supply line.