Toilet Keeps Running? Here's What's Wrong and How to Stop It

A toilet that keeps running can waste 200 gallons a day and quietly add $50–$100 to a monthly water bill. The good news: it's almost always one of four cheap parts.

1. Worn flapper

The rubber flapper at the bottom of the tank hardens and warps over time, letting water seep into the bowl. The fill valve then tops the tank off every few minutes — that intermittent "ghost flush" sound is the giveaway. Drop a few drops of food coloring in the tank; if color shows up in the bowl without flushing, the flapper is leaking.

2. Fill valve set too high

If water is constantly trickling down the overflow tube, the float is set too high. Adjust the float screw or clip so the water line sits about an inch below the top of the overflow tube.

3. Failing fill valve

Older ballcock-style valves wear out and never fully shut. A replacement fill valve is an inexpensive part and a 15-minute job for a plumber.

4. Chain too short or tangled

If the lift chain holds the flapper slightly open, the toilet runs constantly. Leave about half an inch of slack.

When to call a plumber

If you've replaced the flapper and it still runs, if the tank is cracked, or if the toilet also gurgles or overflows, there's a bigger issue. Our toilet repair plumbers fix running toilets the same day across Florida, and an overflowing toilet is always an emergency plumbing call.

Need it fixed today? Call Crosby Plumbing Inc at (888) 809-6756 — 24/7, anywhere in Florida.