Toilet Tune-Up

Home repair expert Henry Harrison shows a guest how to tune-up his leaky toilet and replace the flapper valve. On his elbow grease scale of one to four, Harrison gives this job a one.

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Materials and Tools:

mirror
large flathead screwdriver
brass bristle brush
adjustable wrench
towel
flapper and chain
plumber’s grease

Steps:

1. Turn off water at the main. If you turn it off at the valve behind the toilet, it may fatigue the joint.

2. Drain water from the tank by flushing. Investigate for possible problems with working parts in tank. In this case there was damage on the bottom of the flapper and corrosion on the arm.

3. Scrub away any sediment or build-up on the flush arm with a brass bristled brush. Once clean, lubricate the joint between the arm and the flush handle with plumber’s grease.

4. Unhook chain from handle and unclip the overflow tube. Unsnap and slide it up over the tube to remove damaged flapper.

5. Clean away all decaying material so that new flapper will operate smoothly and seat tightly.

6. Put grease on the flapper hinge and valve opening so the new flapper doesn't stick open. Also rub grease around the valve opening to ensure a tight seal.

7. Install a new flapper. An adjustable flapper has settings that can be used to vary the water flow.

8. Slip new flapper into place.

9. Hook the chain back up to the flush arm and check to make sure that it appears to be working correctly. Turn water back on.

Other problems to check for in toilet tank:

Inspect the float if your toilet runs frequently. Make sure the floating ball doesn’t have any holes in it. If it does, it won’t regulate the water level properly and cause you to run more water than necessary through the toilet, even when it’s not in use. Another possible cause is a bent float ball arm.

Use a small mirror to check for leaks below the tank. Watch where it’s bolted down to the bowl. You can often fix leaks by either tightening the connection or replacing the rubber washer between the parts. Be careful not to tighten it too much.

Check the condition of the overflow tube for clogs any other problems. If for some reason you had an overflow of water come into your tank, this tube allows the water to drain out of the tank and into the bowl which — unless it is clogged — should automatically drain when overfilled.