Today we are heading out to make repairs to a bathroom subfloor. The subfloor is soft and damaged from water leaking from the toilet. The toilet was left leaking for long enough to ruin the flooring below it, this is a great example of a simple maintenance issue that was neglected and led to costly repairs. Some of the most common, simple toilet repairs that may need attention are partial or incomplete flushing, unstable toilet, leaky toilet base, inadequate flushing and leaking toilet valves.
Toilets that only partially flush may be caused by not enough water in the tank. Adjustments to toilet float can sometimes repair this common problem.
Unstable or loose toilets can lead to costly repairs if not addressed quickly. If the toilet moves around from side to side when using the toilet, it could be that the anchor bolts have come loose. This simple repair requires tightening or sometimes replacing the anchor bolts to secure the toilet to the floor.
If you think or witness you toilet leaking at the base, repair it immediately before it can cause damage to the subfloor. Even a slow leak can cause costly damage. If a toilet is leaking it can be a loose seal between the toilet wax ring and the flange. Replacing the wax seal can easily solve this problem. The wax ring is what seals the toilet to the flange. Sometimes we see where caulking was added to toilet base to seal the toilet to the floor. To caulk or not to caulk. While this may be a way to give the toilet a finished look, it does not seal the toilet. Some handymen or plumbers will caulk the toilet after setting it, since most of our toilet repairs are in rental units, we would rather not caulk around the toilet. We have found that if the toilet base looses its seal between the was ring and flange, the toilet will leak but if its caulked around the base the water has nowhere to go but to seep into the subfloor and can go undetected for quite some time. If the base is not caulked then the water will leak out alerting the tenant or homeowner of the leak before too much time and damage has occurred.
Inadequate flushing is a common problem that we find in older toilets. We generally recommend replacing the toilet at this time. If you don't want to replace the toilet, you can spend time trying to clean out the clogged water release holes around the rim of the toilet. Sometimes it works to clean them out, if you don't get them completely clear you may be cleaning them again soon. To avoid more than one service call we will replace the toilet with new at this point and the water release holes will not clog up again for many years.
Leaking toilet valves are water wasters and super annoying. Replacing the valves is a common problem with an easy fix and can help save money by making repairs to prevent water from continually running.
If you need repairs to your toilets give your trusted Twin Falls Handyman a call for quick, reliable repair service. We're there when you need us.
One Call Property Solutions, LLC
(208) 490-6713