It’s certainly not a fun topic to address. But the more time you spend on preventing repairs for an essential item like a toilet, or addressing them the right way, the less you’ll have to worry about them. It’s so frustrating when something you use and need every day, like a toilet, is out of order or difficult to use properly. We want to help.
Today, we go through the details of a few common toilet repairs, and what you should do to ensure these don’t happen or that they don’t become too severe. Please feel free to contact our team for more information.
Toilet Running
When a toilet is running, it can waste a lot of water over the course of a year—sometimes several thousand dollars. It can also be a nuisance when you hear “phantom flushing” every few minutes, or even if the toilet is running nonstop. It turns out, though, that toilets are often running long before the phantom flushing noise is noticeable.
You may not be able to prevent this problem altogether, but you can catch it early. One of the ways to do this is with the dye test. Dye tablets are sold at the hardware store for this purpose, or you can try a couple of drops of food coloring. Put them in the tank (the top of the toilet) and wait about 10-20 minutes. If any of the food coloring has seeped into the bowl, you have a leak between the tank and the bowl.
Clogs
Unfortunately, clogged toilets just happen sometimes. However, they often clog because items are flushed down the toilet that shouldn’t be. This is often done by small children, so making sure the kids in the home know what can be flushed safely is an important part of home maintenance.
Still, even the adults may not realize what counts as flushable and what does not. Basically, if it’s not toilet paper, it shouldn’t go down the drain. Even items marked as “flushable,” like wipes, are not safe for drains and sewer lines.
Gurgling from Drains
If you hear a gurgling sounds from the toilet, it could have to do with the plumbing vent that leads to the top of the home. You may need to spray water down the vent to unblock it, but we strongly recommend leaving this to a professional. It could also have to do with a clog in the sewer line, so call a plumber to be sure.
Bonus: Overflowing while Unclogging
Trying to unclog a toilet on your own, but worried about it overflowing? This isn’t something that should happen—if you do it right. Remove the lid from the tank and push down the flapper to seal the gas between tank and bowl. Then, shut off the water to the toilet before you go in with the plunger! It’s easy to do. There’s usually a knob located right next to the toilet that you have to turn counterclockwise to close.
Contact your Union, NJ plumbers at Max Sr & Paul Schoenwalder Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, A Corp. today!