How to Fix a Toilet Flusher

One of the most common domestic plumbing problems is a toilet that won’t flush. This can be annoying for many homeowners since they’ll have to put up with the hassle of using a bucket to flush the toilet. It can also be embarrassing if they have guests over and they have no way to flush the toilet.

If you’re having this problem at home, you first have to determine why your toilet refuses to flush. To help you get started, here are some of the causes of toilet flusher problems and their possible solutions:

The Flapper Isn’t Properly Seated

Your toilet works like this: the bowl is connected to the tank through a small opening, which is covered by a part called the flapper. The flapper, in turn, is connected by a chain to your toilet handle. When you push on the handle, the flapper lifts and allows water to gush through the opening to the bowl.

Unfortunately, the flapper can become unseated over time. When this happens, water will just leak steadily down your bowl instead of being stored in a tank and released when you push on the handle. Fortunately, you can easily fix this by simply jigging the handle a few times. If this doesn’t work, open the tank lid, locate the flapper, and manually re-seat it on the opening.

The Flapper Is No Longer In Good Shape

Flappers aren’t built to last forever so, if your toilet is several years old or if it’s been years since you replaced the flapper, you can bet that it has been warped or deteriorated by wear and tear. If this happens, don’t worry since you can easily replace it. Flappers are sold in most (if not all) hardware stores, so you only have to consult your toilet’s manual, determine what type of flapper you need, and purchase it from the store.

Once you have the new part, turn off the water supply and flush the toilet to remove water from the tank. Take off the old flapper, install the new one, and turn the water supply back on to see if the problem has been fixed.

The Toilet Chain Is Too Loose

As mentioned above, the flapper is connected to your handle through a chain. When this chain becomes too slack, it won’t be able to lift the flapper up when you pull the handle, which means that water can’t pass through the opening and flush the toilet. If this happens, the only thing you should do is to adjust the length of the chain so it becomes tight enough to lift the flapper whenever you need to flush.

The Toilet Chain Is Broken

Just like flappers, toilet chains can’t last forever and are bound to break at some point. When they do, they won’t be able to lift up the flapper and allow water to gush to the bowl. Luckily, buying a new chain is easy since it’s highly available in most hardware stores, and installing it in your toilet can be a breeze.

These are just some of the solutions that you can use to fix your toilet. If you’ve tried all of them but nothing has worked, it’s definitely the right time to call your plumber and let him have a look at the problem.

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