|
 GO
WITH THE FLOW
Tending
to toilets isn’t as hard--or as bad--as you might think
By
Lou Manfredini
Of the thousands
of questions from homeowners I’ve answered over the
years, the most popular one isn’t “What makes
my floors squeak?” or “Why does my basement smell
like that?” (although I hear plenty of those). Instead,
it’s “How can I get my toilet to stop running?”
Plumbing
in general, and the toilet in particular, drives people crazy
because it seems so incomprehensible. For many of us, the
choice is between putting up with the torture of a constantly
flowing toilet, or calling the plumber for a five-minute repair
that costs $100. Fortunately, a few simple techniques can
help you solve most problems on your own.
Complicated, as
it seems, the toilet has only two essential elements: A fill
valve, and a flush valve, one of which brings water in and
the other which takes it out. Both are located in the tank
to the rear of the toilet, which means you’ll have to
lift the lid. Keep in mind that while the water in the tank
may not be Evian, it’s perfectly clean. You’ve
got nothing to fear by putting your hands in there.
The fill valve
brings the water into the tank. If you hear water running,
it may be that it is set too high, so that water continually
pours in then drains off through the overflow tube. By adjusting
the water level using the setscrew that you’ll easily
find when you lift off the lid, you’ll be able to solve
the problem in a few seconds.
The flush valve,
which lies at the base of the tank, controls the flow of water
into the toilet bowl. This looks like a rubber flapper, which
lifts up to let the water out then falls back down to block
it. Sometimes, the flapper can become dirty from sediments
in the water or misshapen from age, and needs to be replaced.
You can find replacement flappers for your brand of toilet
at all hardware stores. When you get one, turn off the water
supply to the toilet by using the shut-off valve to the rear,
then flush the toilet. This way the tank will stay dry while
you work. Then install the new valve using a screwdriver,
which is a process that will, I promise, be obvious to you
when you take a look.
Sometimes toilets
just don’t seem to “flush enough.” People
tend to blame the low-flow toilets now in use, which use just
1.6 gallons per flush. But most of the time the problem is
that the flap in the flush valve closes too early, leaving
most of this water in the tank. You can solve this with what
I call my Babe Winkelman fix, after the famous fisherman.
Take a small-sized fishing bobber, and clip it to the chain
that goes from the handle to the flush valve inside the tank.
Attach the bobber about two inches from the bottom of the
tank. When you flush the toilet, the bobber will float, thus
giving the flapper more buoyancy, and allowing more water
to flow into the bowl before the flapper closes giving you
bowl the added push to take matter away.
If you’re
still having flow problems, get down on your hands and knees
in front of the bowl and inspect the jets where water flows
just beneath the rim. Many times these become clogged due
to scale buildup from hard water. By taking a small pipe cleaner
or paper clip, you can work this buildup loose.
These simple fixes
should solve about 90 percent of your toilet problems--and
make you the hero of the household.
---
This article
originally appeared in USA Weekend magazine.
|
