How to Fix a Free-Flowing Toilet

There's nothing more annoying than a free-flowing toilet. You know it’s probably something quite small that needs fixing. Calling out a plumber is going to set you back $90 before they’ve even done anything. But if you don’t get a plumber in, you’ll be wasting gallons of water every day. You need to do something quickly before your water bill starts sky-rocketing. Luckily, fixing a running toilet is a lot easier than you may think. Even if you have no plumbing experience, this is one fix you can definitely do yourself.

1. How Your Toilet Works

Before starting any repairs, you need a basic understanding of the parts in your toilet tank and how they work together.

• When you press the flush handle or button, a chain lifts a flap, known as a flapper, which allows water to flow from the tank into the toilet bowl.
• A plastic float sits on top of the water and drops down as the tank empties. This float is connected to a fill valve that opens when the float is down and closes when it’s up.

In the center of the tank is an overflow tube which drains excess water into the toilet bowl if the level in the tank gets too high.