Is your toilet leaking?

February 05, 2014

Is your toilet leaking? To find out, try putting a few drops of food coloring in your tank; if you see the color in your bowl prior to flushing again you have a leak, most likely in the float flapper. Over time, chlorine degrades the flapper to the point where water will leak and cause the tank to have to refill occasionally, wasting water. This is another good reason not to use chlorine tablets in your tank.

Another potential problem can be a badly adjusted water level. If your level is too high in your tank, water can trickled down the overflow and cause the filler valve to continuously fill the tank.

Usually a simple replacement of the float flapper will resolve the leak, if you notice drips elsewhere, contact a plumber as there may be problems that could turn into a preventable flood.

*If you have a pressure assisted toilet you don't have a flapper, call a plumber since these type of toilets are quite a bit different to maintain.