Repair Running Toilet: Quick & Permanent Fixes

Choosing to repair a running toilet will save you anywhere from 5 to 200 gallons of water or more per day. At between $0.0028 and $0.0054 per gallon in the US, saving a few gallons when flushing the toilet may not seem like a big deal.

But depending on your leak and where you live, fixing your toilet leak could save you up to $395 over the course of the year.

This page will teach you how to quickly and easily get that leaking toilet tank under control and will share some other ideas for reducing your toilet water costs…

• How a toilet works
• Causes of toilet leaking & how to fix them
• Other ways your toilet can save you money

Know How a Toilet Works Before You Repair Running Toilet

If you’ve never lifted the lid of your toilet’s tank, you may be surprised at how straightforward the mechanics behind a flushing toilet really are (numbers refer to the diagram)…

1. float, 2. fill valve, 3. lift arm, 4. tank fill tube,
5. bowl fill tube, 6. flush valve flapper, 7. overflow tube,
8. flush handle, 9. chain,10. fill line,
11. fill valve shaft, 12. flush tube

1. When you push down the handle (8), the flapper (6) is lifted.
2. The open flapper allows the tank’s water to drain out and be released into the toilet bowl via the flush tube (12).
3. The dropping water level in the tank causes the float ball (1) to drop with it (your tank may have a floating container or cup instead)
4. After all the water has drained out, the flapper is able to re-seal the flush tube.
5. The dropped float ball causes the fill valve (2) to turn on, thus replenishing the tank’s water.
6. The float ball rises back up with the water until the preset fill line (10) is reached, which then turns off the flowing water.

Your tank may look differently than the image to the right, but the basic mechanics are the same.

Repair Running Toilet: Causes & Fixes

All leaks are not alike. Some may drain a steady flow of water constantly, while others may release an intermittent drip. Either way, you’re most likely dealing with one of two problems:

• Faulty flush valve
• Faulty are misaligned fill valve

Repair Running Toilet: Faulty Flush Valve

Most leaks are caused by a faulty flush valve (also called a flapper). Normal wear, tear and mineral build-up can cause the seal between the flapper and flush tube to leak.

This sometimes deceptive leak can goes on for months before it’s noticed, literally flushing money down the drain each time you use the toilet.

To find out if you have a leaky flapper, add a few drops of food coloring or a special colored dye tablet in the tank after it’s done filling. If colored water leaks into the toilet bowl over the next half hour, you know you’ve got a leak.

Rather than trying to repair your current flapper which can be difficult if not impossible, buy and install a new one. You can pick one up at your local hardware store or order one online via online hardware stores like BIC Warehouse (type "flapper" into their search box).

They usually cost less than $5 and are simple to install… just remove the old one by disconnecting the chain (9) and removing the flapper, then reverse the process for installation.

Reconnect the flapper before connecting the chain to ensure that you’re attaching the chain at the correct length: too short and the flapper won’t be able to seal the drain; too long and the handle won’t be able to lift it.

Repair Running Toilet: Faulty or misaligned fill valve

Nine times out of ten, a leaky toilet is caused by a faulty flapper.
But if you tried the dye/food coloring test recommended above and confirmed that the flapper isn’t leaking, your fill valve (#2 in diagram above) is most likely the culprit.

You can confirm that this is the case by observing the overflow tube (7) after the tank has filled. If water continues to flow in after the tank is full, focus your attention on the fill valve.

Most likely, your fill valve (2) is not being full closed, meaning the water flow will never completely be turned off and excess water (and money) will continue to be lost. Adjusting the float down (for float ball, bend the float arm down; for a float cup, squeeze the metal clip and lower the cup) so that the fill line is lowered will correct this problem.

If neither of the above “quick fixes” takes care of the problem, you may need to replace one or more bigger parts.

If you want to take care of it on your own and if you can figure out which part is faulty, the replacement instructions can usually be found on the part’s package. If you don’t want to take the time to head over to your local hardware store, as mentioned above, a good place to purchase your part online is BIC Warehouse.

If you want someone else to do it for you, consider working with a Green Plumber in your area. Accredited Green Plumbers have been through at least 32 hours of training in areas including water efficient technology, solar hot water, climate and water care.

Other Ways Your Toilet Can Save You Money

1. Get your tank down to 1.6 gallons (3.8 liters) or less
2. Replace your toilet with a WaterSense toilet

Get your tank down to 1.6 gallons (3.8 liters) or less

If you have a toilet that was made before 1992, chances are that it uses between 3.5 and 5 gallons per flush. After 1992, the government required that toilets use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush.

Rather than replacing your entire toilet, install a displacement device to reduce the amount of water that your tank can hold.

Rather than purchasing one, get a couple of small bottles (such as a plastic bottled water bottle), fill them with sand or dirt, screw the tops on tight and place them in the tank. Some recommend using a brick instead, but there’s two reasons not to: First, some bricks are porous, reducing the amount of water that is displaced. Second, the brick may slowly disintegrate and the particles may affect the toilet’s performance.

Here’s an easy way to make sure you’re using enough bottles:

1. Fill and seal 5 or 6 water bottles with dirt or sand and set them within arm’s reach next to the toilet
2. Using a measuring cup (or your coffee pot), measure out 1.6 gallons (1.6 gallon = 25.6 cups) and take the container into the bathroom.
3. In your toilet’s tank, manually close the fill valve by lifting up the float cup or float ball to stop the water, then flush your toilet so that all of the water drains out.
4. Once it’s empty, pour in your 1.6 gallons of water.
5. Place the bottles in the tank one by one until the water reaches the fill line (10).

Getting your tank (or at least the water within it) down to 1.6 gallons will start saving you money immediately:

• 3.5 gallon tank: $32 to $76 per year for a family of 4 ($9 - $19 per person)
• 5 gallon tank: $72 to $136 per year for a family of 4 ($18 - $34 per person)

Not a huge sum per person per year, but better than a sharp fill valve shaft in the eye. Plus all of the savings will add up as you continue to follow our recommendations.

Replace your toilet with a WaterSense toilet

To take it one step further, the new WaterSense toilets use only 1.28 gallons per flush (or less)… to learn more, see our Toilet Reviews page (coming soon).

Also see...

Numbered toilet diagram licensed via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license;Toilet diagrams with green background courtesy of McGill and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

*Minimum Savings amount is average for the United States calculated over the life of the average U.S. home and assumes that you apply all recommendations on this page. Actual savings could vary based on region-specific factors.