Plumbing
Work out which of the four it is
| Symptom | Usual cause | Who can handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on its own every few minutes | Flapper no longer sealing. The tank slowly loses water, the fill valve tops it up. | Homeowner. Inexpensive part, no tools beyond a hand. |
| Runs constantly, or will not stop filling | Fill valve, or the float set too high so water spills into the overflow tube. | Homeowner, usually. Adjust the float first before buying anything. |
| Water at the base after a flush | Wax ring has failed, or the closet bolts have loosened and the toilet rocks. | Call. The toilet has to come up and be reset on a new ring. |
| Weak or incomplete flush | Mineral build-up in the rim jets or the trapway, not the flush mechanism. | Try cleaning the rim jets, then call. A plunger does not address this. |
| Backs up, and so does another fixture | Not the toilet. Something further down the line is restricted. | Call. Clearing the toilet alone will not fix it and may push it further. |
The running toilet is worth fixing this week
A flapper that does not seal is the cheapest repair in the house and it runs continuously. It is also easy to ignore because nothing is visibly wrong. Put a few drops of food colouring in the tank, leave it twenty minutes without flushing, and look in the bowl. Colour in the bowl means the flapper is leaking.
When the toilet rocks
What a repair visit involves
A straightforward pull and reset is a contained job: the toilet comes up, the old wax is cleaned off the flange, the flange is checked for cracks and corrosion, a new ring and new bolts go in, and the toilet is reset level and sealed. The part that occasionally changes the price is the flange itself, which in older houses can be cast iron and broken.
Booking it
We handle toilet repairs and replacements across Manchester and the surrounding towns. If the problem turns out to be further down the line, that is drain cleaning, and if it is further down still, sewer lines. Fixtures generally are faucets and fixtures.