My toilet, a few times a day starts running water for a few seconds then stops. How do I fix it?

  • yesman@lemmy.world
    0·
    5 months ago

    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.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    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.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        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

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        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.