Plumbing Tip of the Month: Tuning Up Your Toilet

The unsung ‘Heroes of the Household’ are our toilets. Just like a lot of other household items around your home, you don’t think much about toilets until they aren’t working – especially when they are in need of being frequently used.

Speaking of frequently used… what would you guess the single busiest toilet day to be? Thanksgiving? Christmas? Well, it turns out that all across the United States, the busiest day for the toilet is Super Bowl Sunday. That’s right. Big parties plus lots of appetizers, food, and drink, makes for many extra flushes.

To help make sure your facilities are ready for the big game day, we hav put together a quick list of checks you can do ahead of the party:

1 | Check the Toilet Flapper

Are you constantly hearing water running in your toilet’s tank – or is it flushing by itself? That may be a sign of a bad flapper. It’s often the part that requires on-going maintenance and checking. It’s very easy to change this yourself.

2 | Check the Flush Handle

While checking the flapper, check the strap that connects the flapper to the flush handle. Make sure the strap isn’t too loose, or too tight. Also check the flush handle itself to make sure it is tightly secured to the wall of the tank. If it’s lose, simply reach into the tank and give the nut on the inside a good tightening.

3 | Check for Leaks at the Base

Is there water on the floor around your toilet? Most likely, it’s a faulty or older wax ring. This too is a fairly simple DIY project -- Here are the instructions.

4 | Check the Fill Valve

Next, inspect your fill valve. After it flushes, watch as the fill-valve, also known as the ballcock floats up with the water level. Make sure the valve shuts off the water just before it reaches the overflow tube. Adjust it accordingly if it runs over, or is too low.

5 | Check the Bowl Itself

As for the bowl itself, check it over to ensure that it is flowing smoothly with no obstructions. Also make sure that you aren’t flushing things like facial tissues, cotton swabs or other non-toilet paper items down the bowl.

Checking over these items on each of your toilets will help you ensure there aren’t any unwanted interruptions at your next gathering. Should you notice, however, that your toilet is flushing slowly, or requires multiple flushes, call a Rosie-Certified plumber right away!

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RELATED PLUMBING TIPS:

• Replacing Water Supply Lines
• All About Garbage Disposals

 

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