Why does my toilet suddenly start running water then stop?
Why does my toilet suddenly start running water then stop?
My toilet, a few times a day starts running water for a few seconds then stops. How do I fix it?
Slow leak going from tank to bowl.
It fills up enough for the float to cut off water to the tank
But a tiny little drip is going from tank to bowl.
Over long enough time, the tank is low enough the float valve fills it up a little. Then stops.
Cycle repeats.
If you really care. You can replace the flap stopping tank>bowl. Maybe replace all the guts while you're at it.
If you have hard water, you can just rub the flap/gasket with some vinegar and that might be enough.
The Toilet Whisperer
Hard water is the main cause for me. Minerals get stuck on the gasket and prevents a good seal so water slowly trickles in.
What you also want to do is pour vinegar down the tube in the tank that water sprays into
That feeds into the "jets" the water gets into the bowl from. Overtime those ports will crystalize over and it's a huge hassle. flushing with vinegar that way will break it up before it fully clogs. And if some are clogged, the vinegar just soaks in there till the next flush
Thanks I'll give this a try. I'll see if I can find a replacement part
Definitely try just wiping it off first tho....
Just the flap and the gasket it seats into, wipe it down with a wet paper towel, see if it still does it
You can also try adjusting the linkage (chain length) sometimes a flap "floats down" slowly because there's still some water. And that might be causing issues.
Anytime you fuck with a toilet, you want to try the least invasive methods first and work your way up.
Shit can get out of hand quickly and you may end up replacing everything and still experiencing the same issue.
Every single hardware store has the replacement parts. You can likely replace the entire working insides for about $30.
You might want to say which part of the planet you're in. Americans just assume everyone has the same medieval plumbing they do, but the vast majority of people don't
Usually because the flap in the tank is letting a small amount of water out into the bowl. After a while, it'll trigger the fill valve to top itself back up.
You can try lifting the flap and cleaning it and the drain hole to see if that gives it a better seal. (Turn the valve off so it's not trying to refill while you work, obviously).
If not that or if the flap is visibly degraded, then you can buy a replacement flap at pretty much any home improvement store. They're easy to replace: they just kind of clip on.
Ok I'll give this a try.
That's usually the cause and easy to check. Less often, the fill valve can be wonky and just kind of kick on by itself.
If that's the case, you'll hear another sound while it's filling where the excess water is going down the overflow drain inside the tank. That's a harder fix as you have to replace the whole assembly, but it's not too terrible; just more involved than replacing the flap.
Check your ballcock.
(It's a real part inside the toilet but probably isn't the issue, I just wanted to say ballcock)
Slow leak.
You can replace the gasket/float, or you can try cleaning the probably moldy/algae seal topside and float underside off and seeing if that fixes the leak. I always drain the tank and clean the seal first when I get this issue, takes a minute and usually fixes or significantly reduces the frequency.
Agreed on the slow leak. Replacing the gasket usually does the trick IME.
Just training for the big shit coming ... ;-P
put some food coloring in the back toilet tank and you can see how bad the water leak is.
Oh I want to know the answer to this as well. Sometimes my toilet will flush itself while I'm having a shower, and if I'm not paying attention I get cooked.
The toilet flushes because the bowl is filling up. That's what causes it to flush. Why the bowl is filling up when you shower... I have no idea. Sounds bad though.
There is an explanation for this behavior that hasn't been mentioned. You might have a leak between the bowl and the floor. This is much more serious and can cause expensive damage so if you see evidence of water on the floor, that needs to be addressed immediately.
A leak between the bowl and floor would not change the level in the tank... unless there was also a leak in the tank.
