Toilet Services

Almost always the flapper or the fill valve. The flapper is the rubber seal at the bottom of the tank; when it stops seating properly, water leaks past it into the bowl and the fill valve keeps topping the tank back up. Both are inexpensive parts and a straightforward replacement. It is worth fixing quickly rather than living with it, because a running toilet can waste a substantial amount of water continuously and it shows up on the bill long before you notice the sound.

Most often a failed wax ring, the seal between the toilet and the flange in the floor. Once that seal goes, water escapes at every flush. It can also be a cracked bowl, or condensation in a humid bathroom, and the three need different responses. Take it seriously either way: water at the base has been getting into the subfloor for as long as it has been happening, and a wax ring is cheap compared with a rotted floor.

Yes, more than it looks. Movement breaks the wax seal underneath, which is what leads to water reaching the subfloor, and it can crack the flange the toilet is bolted to. Sometimes it is as simple as the bolts needing tightening, but if the flange itself has broken or the floor beneath has softened, that has to be put right before the toilet is reset. It is a small job now and a much larger one later.

Fill valves, flappers, flush handles and wax rings are all cheap repairs and worth doing at almost any age. Replacement makes more sense when the bowl or tank is cracked, when the toilet is old enough that it uses several times the water of a modern one, or when repeated repairs are stacking up. A plumber should tell you which of those you are looking at rather than defaulting to a new unit.