Author Topic: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours  (Read 3983 times)

El_Viajero

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Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« on: November 22, 2016, 08:45:25 AM »
One of my toilets starts refilling every 3 to 5 hours. It doesn't recycle all the water constantly; it just refills the tank a little bit and the refilling only lasts a few seconds at most. It's kind of a loud toilet, so this is annoying to me. I've lowered the position of the float to prevent water from spilling over into the overflow tank (I thought that might be the problem), but the toilet is still behaving this way. Thoughts?

rothwem

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2016, 08:52:23 AM »
One of my toilets starts refilling every 3 to 5 hours. It doesn't recycle all the water constantly; it just refills the tank a little bit and the refilling only lasts a few seconds at most. It's kind of a loud toilet, so this is annoying to me. I've lowered the position of the float to prevent water from spilling over into the overflow tank (I thought that might be the problem), but the toilet is still behaving this way. Thoughts?

The flapper is leaking.  Your toilet is refilling because the water is dribbling out of the tank, and when the float drops low enough, it needs to refill. 

Spork

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2016, 08:54:14 AM »
From that description, I would assume you have a leaky flapper.  The chlorine/etc in the water will eat at it over time and it will start leaking.  It's normal.

Go to plumbing supply/Home Depot/Lowes and get a new flapper.  Look for a silicone version (usually they are red).  It is probably a 90 second swap out for a first timer.  Especially on newer toilets, they just snap onto little ears.  Hook the chain up.  Done.

If we're talking a 1960s era (or older) toilet, you may have a flapper with a replaceable seat.  The normal flapper may or may not fit easily in these guys and you might want to just replace the seat.

Fishindude

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2016, 09:09:49 AM »
Might just have rust or lime build up on flapper and in tank.   
A good cleaning using a muratic acid based product such as "the works" will remove most of that build up.   I deal with this about once a year on the toilet in my shop.

Koogie

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2016, 09:54:01 AM »
Might just have rust or lime build up on flapper and in tank.   
A good cleaning using a muratic acid based product such as "the works" will remove most of that build up.   I deal with this about once a year on the toilet in my shop.

+1    Or just try cleaning around the lip of the hole the flapper sits on.  It can get gunked up to (water deposit buildup).  That can cause a gap between it and the flapper too.

lthenderson

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2016, 10:36:15 AM »
If you end up replacing the guts because you can't find a flapper that works (I've been down that road many a time), I like to replace it with the type that keeps the flapper up off the bottom of the tank. I have much less problems with flapper failure or getting gunked up and leaking.

Similar: https://www.amazon.com/Fluidmaster-400AKRP10-Complete-Toilet-Repair/dp/B0002YVK44/

Papa bear

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2016, 06:41:16 PM »
And if you don't believe us and want to check for yourself, put about 10 drops of food coloring in the tank and come back in 10 minutes.  Your toilet bowl will be colorful =).


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Metric Mouse

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2016, 10:21:37 AM »
Leaky flapper.

Sounds like a mildly dirty joke, but the effects are real. Should be an easy fix.

dess1313

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2016, 09:25:08 PM »
Do you use those chlorine type pucks in your tank?  I did with one of my NEW toilets and it rotted the rubber flapper so badly it started leaking like crazy.  had to replace the flapper.

El_Viajero

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2017, 09:07:59 AM »
Ok, I've done some of the things you kind folks suggested – all to no avail, I'm afraid:

1. I tweaked the level of the float. My toilet probably uses less water than before, but it didn't solve the problem.

2. I cleaned the flapper and the edge of the ring beneath the flapper. Nada. Still recycling water like it was before.

3. I replaced the flapper with a new one. Didn't help. Still recycling water every few hours.

Is it time to replace the whole toilet assembly, or is there something else I can try first?

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2017, 09:23:28 AM »
First of all confirm that water is actually leaking from the tank into the bowl.

Take some food coloring and add a couple of drops to the full tank. At this time, the water in the bowl should not have any color in it.

Give it a couple of hours and look at the bowl. If you see any color in the bowl, your flapper is leaking.

How old is your toilet (usually a date is printed on the inside of the tank)?

It is trivial to replace the float and flapper on a toilet. Maybe you should replace both....

El_Viajero

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2017, 09:43:42 AM »
First of all confirm that water is actually leaking from the tank into the bowl.

Take some food coloring and add a couple of drops to the full tank. At this time, the water in the bowl should not have any color in it.

Give it a couple of hours and look at the bowl. If you see any color in the bowl, your flapper is leaking.

How old is your toilet (usually a date is printed on the inside of the tank)?

It is trivial to replace the float and flapper on a toilet. Maybe you should replace both....

Makes sense! Yes, I'll do this and report back.

BudgetSlasher

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #12 on: January 07, 2017, 08:31:49 AM »
First of all confirm that water is actually leaking from the tank into the bowl.

Take some food coloring and add a couple of drops to the full tank. At this time, the water in the bowl should not have any color in it.

Give it a couple of hours and look at the bowl. If you see any color in the bowl, your flapper is leaking.

How old is your toilet (usually a date is printed on the inside of the tank)?

It is trivial to replace the float and flapper on a toilet. Maybe you should replace both....

Last time I looked into replacing a couple toilet parts it was pretty much much the same price to buy the complete kit like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/Complete-Toilet-Repair-Kit-400AKRP10/100391762

it contains everything that can be replaced. In my case it was good because part of the problem was the seal at the bottom of the tank that the flapper rests on; it appeared to have been damaged, along with the tank bolts, by the prior owners use of in tank chlorine tablets.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2017, 08:35:16 AM by BudgetSlasher »

Papa bear

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #13 on: January 07, 2017, 08:34:47 AM »
There are also different size flappers.  Make sure you bought the correct size.


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monkeymind

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Re: Toilet recycles water every 3-5 hours
« Reply #14 on: January 07, 2017, 11:23:12 AM »
I don't know if anyone else suggested this yet. When I had a running toilet, what I thought was a leaky flapper turned out to be a leak where the tank and the bowl meet. I took the tank off, reseated the seal and added some plumbers calk for good measure. It turned out to be a very easy fix and the toilet immediately stopped running. And best of all, it cost next to nothing.

Good luck!