When the old toilet just won’t flush, you may be in a pretty poopy situation. What sort of toilet repairs can you do yourself and which are best left to a real plumber? Here are a few common potty problems and how you can (or should) deal with them:
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The Phantom Flush
Not to be confused with a Poker flush, the phantom flush is a common toilet problem that results in the toilet refilling itself on its own as if it were just flushed. This can be intermittent or continuous, but it’ll cause a headache until it’s dealt with.
The good news is that most phantom flushes can be traced to the toilet’s cistern outlet seal. Drain out the cistern, then inspect the outlet seal. Tired, worn out seals can be purchased for next to nothing and replaced pretty easily.
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Seal Leaks
Most toilets have five seals which can possibly leak, but only a single leak can cause puddling and damage to floorboards, plasterboard, and become stagnant water leading to mould and bacterial growth. If you suspect you’ve got a leaky seal, drain all of the water from the toilet bowl and tank then see if you can spot the source of the leak.
The culprit is usually a simple loose seal that just needs to be tightened or replaced. In many cases, however, these simple fixes won’t do and you’ll need to call in a plumber to get the job done right. Generally, try to fix it yourself at first, fill up the tank and bowl, and keep an eye out for any further leaks. Contact a plumber if the problem doesn’t go away after this first inspection.
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Clogged Toilet
Perhaps the most frequent call that plumbers respond to for toilets stems from clogs. All sorts of things that don’t belong in the toilet get flushed down anyway, quite often with no immediate consequence. This doesn’t mean you won’t have problems down the road (or down the pipes), however.
Accumulations of tissue, human waste, or plastic objects can create blockages deep down in your plumbing, beyond the reach of an ordinary plunger. If the blockage is within reach, however, you may be able to reach it with a flanged plunger. In cases when the blockage runs deep into the household plumbing system, you’ll need to call a plumber to get the blocked drains in eastern suburbs fixed blockage broken up.
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Frozen or Broken Pipes
If you’re noticing the signs of water damage near your toilet, such as an overflowing toilet bowl, stains on the walls, or puddling on the bathroom floor, the problem may be coming from the toilet but it could also be coming from broken pipes in your plumbing system. In cases where the toilet isn’t the culprit, you’ll want to call a plumber to check for broken pipes since this type of work shouldn’t be done by yourself.
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Replacing the Toilet
Whether your old toilet doesn’t match the rest of the bathroom during a renovation or you’d like to upgrade to a more eco-friendly or comfortable toilet.
The connections will already be in place from the previous toilet, so connecting a new toilet is fairly straightforward. Nevertheless, a qualified plumber eastern suburbs can assist you with a proper installation should you have any doubts.
Murphys Plumbing
Contact the friendly staff at Murphys Plumbing and we’ll provide you with quality plumbing repairs – toilets, hot water systems, water filters, and more.
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