Fix guides, one toilet problem at a time
Pick the symptom in front of you. Each guide names the usual cause, what you can check with the lid off, how we fix it, and the point where a toilet problem turns out to be the drain line.
- Clogged toilet: what to do first
Most toilet clogs sit in the trap built into the bowl and clear with the right plunger. The first job is to keep the bowl from overflowing; the second is to notice if the clog is really further down the line.
- Toilet keeps clogging: finding the real cause
One clog is an event; repeat clogs are a pattern with a cause. That cause lives in one of three places: the toilet itself, the branch drain, or the sewer lateral that leaves the house.
- Water around the toilet base
Water that seeps out from under a toilet usually means the seal between the bowl and the floor drain has failed. It should be fixed promptly, because the water you see is often less than the water you do not.
- Toilet tank leaks: bolts, gaskets and the supply line
Water dripping from the back of a toilet usually comes from one of four places: the supply line, the fill valve nut, the tank bolts or the gasket between tank and bowl. Each has a different fix.
- Rocking toilet: bolts, seals and the floor flange
A toilet should not move at all when someone sits on it. Rocking usually means loose bolts, a compressed seal or a damaged flange, and every bit of movement makes a leak more likely.
- Weak or slow toilet flush
A flush that swirls lazily or needs a second try usually comes from too little water in the tank, water leaving the tank too slowly, or a partial blockage in the bowl or drain.
- Fill valve and flapper: the two parts behind most repairs
The fill valve lets water into the tank and the flapper lets it out. Between them they account for most running, hissing and weak-flush complaints, and both are routine to replace.
- Toilet shutoff valve: stuck, leaking or won't close
The small valve on the wall or floor behind a toilet should stop the water in seconds. Many older valves are rarely touched for years, so it pays to know whether yours works before an emergency.
- Repair or replace your toilet?
Most toilet problems are part failures, and parts are made to be replaced. Replacement starts to make sense when the porcelain is damaged, the toilet keeps failing, or it never flushed well to begin with.
- Choosing a replacement toilet
A new toilet has to fit the drain that is already in your floor. Measure the rough-in first, then choose height, shape and flush style for the people who will use it.
- Sewage backing up when you flush
When a flush sends water up into a tub, shower or floor drain, the toilet is not the problem: something is blocking the shared line downstream. This needs prompt attention and careful handling.
- Hard water and your toilet
Fullerton's water is a blend of local groundwater and imported water, and it is hard. Over time the minerals settle inside the tank and bowl, wearing parts and slowing the flush.
- Cracked toilet tank or bowl
Porcelain is strong until it is not. A crack can weep for months or give way without warning, so once you find one, plan on replacing the cracked piece or the whole toilet.
- What drives the cost of toilet repair or replacement
This guide does not list prices, because they vary by contractor and by job. It explains what makes one toilet job simple and another involved, so you can read a quote with confidence.
- Hiring a plumber for toilet work
Toilet work is common, but the person doing it should still be licensed, explain what they found and put the price in writing. Here is how to check a license and what to ask.