3 Things to Do Before Fixing a Running Toilet

Fixing running toilets can be one of the biggest headaches and waste a whole lot of time and money. If you’re about to fix a leaking or running toilet this post may SAVE you major time, money and frustration. Twin Home Experts, a plumbing company for 30 years that has serviced more than 3,500 toilets, knows a thing or two on how to deal with running toilets.

We have had more call backs on toilet repairs than ANY other residential plumbing repairs. It’s the call back from Mrs. Jones that goes something like this: “ I had my toilet repaired last week and it’s still makes a leaking sound.” We have a learned some big lessons from these call backs and that’s what we want to share with you.

There are 3 super IMPORTANT steps that you MUST take BEFORE running to the parts store and rebuilding your leaking toilet:

Turn the toilet valve off to your leaking/running toilet. Don’t do any thing else like flushing,etc … just walk away. (We’ll come back to this after we complete STEP 2.)

Check water pressure to the home. This requires a water gauge that costs around $10 and a pair of channel locks.

• Make sure that NOBODY is using the water inside the home during this time.
• Counter-clockwise screw the water gauge on a hose bib that is connected to the domestic water lines to the house. The water pressure should read LESS then 85 PSI.
• If water pressure comes in between 100 psi to 150 psi, this is more than likely what’s causing your toilet to run or leak and you need to replace the pressure regulator.

Return to the toilet that you shut off and lift the lid off the toilet. Check to see if the tank is still holding water.

• If YES, meaning tank is still full of water, then your flapper and flush valve assembly is fine and does not need replacement.
• If NO, meaning tank is empty of water, then you have narrowed your issue down to the flapper. We recommend removing the flapper and taking this to a box store to match up the right flapper for your mode toilet.

Twin Home Experts of Los Angeles, Utah and Arizona are always here to help.  If you need additional advice, send us a email to [email protected] or call 877- 941-0757.