Signs you need toilet repair
- The tank hisses or refills on its own each few minutes
- The bowl rocks whenever you sit down
- Water appears around the base after a flush
- Weak flushes that need a second pull
- The handle has to be held down or jiggled
- A crack in the tank or bowl, however fine
How we handle the job
We shut the supply at the stop valve and look inside the tank. A worn flapper, a misadjusted chain or a fill valve set too high account for most running toilets. A rocking or leaking base means the wax or foam seal under the toilet has failed, often because the flange beneath it has broken or sits too low after new flooring went in.
- Running: new flapper or fill valve, water level reset below the overflow tube
- Weak flush: clear the rim jets, check the flapper chain, look for a partial blockage in the trapway
- Leaking base: lift the toilet, fix or replace the flange, new seal, re-bolt and caulk
- Cracked china: replacement is the only safe answer; see toilet installation
Original toilets from the 1970s and 1980s in Liverpool, Amberlea and Highbush use large tanks and older parts, and replacement flappers must match the flush valve size.
Pickering homes and this problem
Original toilets from the 1970s and 1980s in Liverpool, Amberlea and Highbush use large tanks and older parts, and replacement flappers must match the flush valve size. Newer homes in Seaton and Duffin Heights have low-flow models whose fill valves are sensitive to grit after construction. Hard Durham water leaves scale that holds flappers slightly open. A sudden bill jump is explained in why your Durham water bill jumped, and you can try fixing a running toilet yourself first.
What affects the cost
- Internal parts only versus pulling the toilet
- Flange condition and floor damage
- Condition of the stop valve and supply line
- Availability of parts for older or imported models
What you can do first
Add a little food colouring to the tank, then leave it for fifteen minutes without flushing. If the bowl turns colour, the flapper is letting water by. If water is spreading on the floor, turn the stop valve clockwise and flush once to empty the tank.
Questions callers ask
Should I repair or swap out an old toilet?
If the china is sound and components are available, repair. Cracked, thirsty or forever clogging, replacement is better value.
Why does my toilet run in the middle of the night?
Usually a slow leak past the flapper lets the water drop until the fill valve kicks in. A new flapper fixes it most of the time.
