There’s an old joke that goes: “Is your refrigerator running?” “Yeah.” “Well you better go catch it!”.
You’ve probably heard it before. It’s not a great joke.
But do you know what’s no joke? A toilet tank that isn’t filling up.
We’re a plumbing company. We want your business. And we want your trust. That’s why we want to help you solve problems without needing to call us. It will save you money, and it may save you time. The skills you’ll learn here can help you for your entire lifetime.
So without further ado: “Is your toilet tank not filling up?” – better read this article.
The shut off valve is off
This is pretty rare, but it’s extraordinarily easy to fix, so this is what we’ll lead with.
Sometimes, the shut off valve on your toilet is off. In other words, water isn’t flowing to your toilet. This usually happens if you’ve recently done repairs on your toilet – or if you have curious kids.
Just turn the valve on. Simple as that.
The float is too low
Before you take the steps we describe here, it’s helpful to turn the shut off valve off. Just remember to turn it back on again when you’re done.
Your toilet’s float is connected to its fill valve – though some modern toilets have an all-in-one fill valve/float.
If your float is set too low, the fill valve will close before your toilet tank can fill with water. You can adjust this in a couple of different ways:
When you have a traditional ball float, the adjustment is often as simple as fiddling with screws or dials that allow you to change the position of the ball. Simply lift the float ball higher.
With cylinder floats (the all-in-one models), you’ll release a clip. You can then adjust the float – sometimes by turning a screw mechanism up or down.
There are too many ways of adjusting floats to describe here – check out this article on adjusting toilet fill valves to learn more.
Your flapper is defective
Don’t worry, we’re not talking badly about jazz-loving women from the 1920s.
Your toilet flapper is what seals the flush valve hole. That means it’s what stops water from continuously running into your toilet bowl – and emptying your tank.
There are many potential problems with toilet flappers. If you see debris, it may be stopping your flapper from sealing the flush valve. Simply clean it out with a cloth.
Flapper chains are also prone to getting caught – simply move the chain!
If your flapper is looking very worn or the chain is broken, however, you may need to buy a new flapper. They’re pretty easy to install, so you can probably do this yourself!
It’s something else
If you’ve checked all of the above, you probably have a more serious problem. You may have a leak in your toilet supply line or another defect with your toilet.
Give us a call. We’re plumbers in Winnipeg who can diagnose and repair pretty much any problem you might have with your toilet.
