Toilet repair: instructions for those who are not a plumber at all

How the toilet works

The toilet consists of a toilet bowl, a cistern and a seat with a lid. The bowl serves as a base and is screwed to the floor. It contains a siphon, which is connected through a cuff or flexible corrugation to the sewer. The main function of the siphon is a quick flush due to the gravity of the flow and the pressure difference. This part is constantly filled with water and works as a water seal, preventing unpleasant odors from spreading.

The flush cistern is installed either on the shelf of the bowl - in compact toilets, or it is attached to the wall - in old-style plumbing. From the side or bottom, the tank is connected to the water supply with a flexible hose, which is connected to the filling fittings. The latter, in turn, is equipped with a float valve that controls the filling of the tank with water to the desired level.

There, inside, there is a drain fittings responsible for draining water. It is to it, through a special mechanism, that the button is attached, with which we control the flush. To protect against overflow, the drain fittings have an overflow connection. Through it, in the event of a malfunction of the float valve, water flows into the toilet, and not onto the floor.

How to disassemble a toilet for repair

Most of the malfunctions are associated with the drain and filling mechanisms. To eliminate such breakdowns, you need to disassemble the tank. So let's first look at how this is done.

How to remove the cover

In old-style toilets with a plastic cistern, the lid is latched and removed with an upward movement. Sometimes you additionally have to pry off its edges with a screwdriver or other sharp object.

In modern toilets-compacts, the lid simply lies on the cistern and is fixed only by means of a button. Therefore, in order to remove the part, you must first unscrew the bezel of the button counterclockwise and remove it.

In some models of toilets, the push-button mechanism is secured with a screw hidden inside. In this case, pry off the top of the button with a sharp knife or a thin screwdriver, and then unscrew the screw and remove the button.

There are also drain mechanisms equipped with a stem with a handle that rises up. To remove it, you need to lift the ball and unscrew it counterclockwise, holding the stem.

How to remove drain fittings

First, you should turn off the water at the entrance to the toilet tank, and then grab the drain mechanism with your hand and, turning it slightly counterclockwise until it clicks, lift it up. Sometimes there is a retainer on the armature that needs to be pushed back before removing the mechanism.

To replace the drain valve with fittings of a different design or manufacturer, you must completely remove the mechanism, including the seat. To do this, you need to remove the tank and unscrew the large nut from below.

The filler valve with side connection is very easy to remove. It is enough to remove the cover and disconnect the flexible hose, and then unscrew the fastening nut from the outside and pull out the mechanism.

It is more difficult with bottom connection fittings. First, remove the flexible hose and the tank lid. Then the water is washed off and the drain valve is removed. Next, unscrew the nut with which the filler valve is attached from below, and take it out. If the water is not completely drained, it is better to substitute a basin or other container so as not to spill everything on the floor.

How to remove the tank

In old-style toilets, it is plastic and can be removed quite simply. First, shut off the water supply and wash off the residue, and then lift the lid and unscrew the screws that secure the tank to the wall. After that, unscrew the flexible hose hose and the drain nut at the bottom of the tank.

On compact toilets, the tank is attached to the shelf of the bowl, so it can be disassembled differently. The first step is to turn off the water and press the flush. Then remove the cover, remove the drain and filler fittings and remove the remaining water with a sponge or cloth. Next, the flexible liner is unscrewed, as well as the fastening screws of the cistern at the bottom of the toilet.

How to fix common toilet breakdowns

Flowing down the drain pipe

If a puddle forms in the area of connection to the sewer socket or at the outlet of the toilet itself, the reason lies in the drying out of the cuff or fracture of the flange of the flexible corrugated pipe. With a rigid connection on plastic pipes, such problems practically do not happen.

This is corrected by replacing the corrugation with a new one, while it is important to carefully install it without kinks and kinks. As a temporary solution, you can seal the joint around the pipe with silicone sealant, after wiping and drying the area.

Water is not collected in the tank

There may be several reasons for such a malfunction, but they all boil down to the fact that there is some obstacle preventing water from entering the tank. It is better to start your search with the simplest options and gradually move to the complex ones.

The first step is to turn off the water and remove the flexible piping from the side or bottom of the toilet. If there is a blockage, clean it and check the pressure by opening the water and lowering the hose into a basin or other container. If the flow is good, the next step is to check the filter inside the supply valve.

It looks like a plastic insert with a mesh. You need to take out the filter, clean it if there is dirt and rinse it under the tap. Then the part is put in place and it is checked if the situation has changed. It should be borne in mind that some valves may not have such a filter.

If cleaning does not help, you need to remove the tank lid, remove the filler mechanism and, by unscrewing the valve nut, carefully examine the contamination under a stream of water, clean the channel with a thin wire, remove the plaque from the rubber membrane. After that, everything is assembled in the reverse order and installed in place.

If water is still not collected, most likely the valve itself is faulty and will have to be replaced with a new one.

Water is drawn with great noise

The problem of noisy filling is, as a rule, of side-connected tanks. Due to the design features, the valve is located on top and a jet of water, falling to the bottom of an empty tank, creates a noise. To reduce it, special silencer pipes are installed at the valve outlet, reaching the bottom, through which the flow flows.

Often such tubes fall off, and sometimes they are completely absent. Therefore, as a solution, you need to put them back in place or select and install new ones of a suitable diameter on the valve outlet. The length of the hose should reach the very bottom or even lie down on it.

How to fix breakage of compact toilet bowls

Constant leakage into the toilet

If water flows in a thin stream into the bowl all the time, it means that the filling or drain valve is not working. If the first breaks down after filling the tank, the water does not shut off, if the second is faulty, the collected water is not held by the valve.

To determine which valve is not working, you need to press the drain and observe:

If there is no leakage when collecting water, and a trickle appears after the tank is full, then the filling fittings are faulty.
If water starts flowing immediately after pressing the flush button, the reason is in the drain valve.

In very rare cases, both mechanisms do not work at the same time. Also, overflow can occur due to improper setting of the filler valve - how to adjust it is described at the end of the article.

What to do if the filler valve breaks down

To eliminate the malfunction, you need to remove the tank cap and remove the filler mechanism. Next, you need to unscrew the valve nut and carefully remove the rubber membrane from it. From it, as well as from the valve seat, remove rust and scale deposits with a toothbrush, and then rinse well with water. If the inside of the channel is clogged, clean it with a thin wire.

In old-style tanks, remove the cap from the valve, pull out the rocker shaft and remove the problematic part. With a thin knitting needle or wire, you need to clean the channel, and then rinse with water.

After cleaning and assembling, everything should work. If this does not happen, you will have to replace the diaphragm or the entire filler valve assembly.

The gaskets of this mechanism are rarely sold separately. Therefore, just try to turn the old back side up: it will still serve for a while. Alternatively, you can sand with sandpaper and then glue a circle from a bicycle tube or other thin rubber over it.

What to do if the drain valve breaks down

First of all, you need to turn off the water, drain the liquid from the tank and, removing the remains with a sponge or rag, remove the drain fittings. Next, you need to remove the gasket and clean it from rust. If possible, it is best to replace the gasket with a new one.

If you can't find a similar one, try flipping it upside down or placing a weight like a large nut on top of the valve so that the diaphragm is better pressed against the seat. If all else fails, you will have to change the entire drainage mechanism as a whole.

The tank is not filling enough

Sometimes, in filling mechanisms with a float inside the glass, the plug valve is jammed due to rust. This leads to the fact that when filling the tank, water enters the glass from the bottom, and does not overflow over its edge. As a result, the valve closes ahead of time and the tank is not filled to the desired level.

To solve the problem, you need to turn off the water, wash off the residue and remove the filling mechanism. Next, you should remove the bracket and pull out the valve-plug from the glass. Then you need to clean the part and its seat from plaque, and also make sure that the plug fits well to the glass and moves freely.

Leaking from under the tank

Water leakage from the bottom of the tank can occur if the tapered gaskets of the mounting bolts or the large rubber ring between the toilet shelf and the cistern are out of order.

In both cases, you need to turn off the water and press the flush, and then remove the cover, remove the filler and drain fittings. After removing the remaining water, unscrew the fastening bolts and carefully inspect all seals for cracks.

It is advisable to replace the gaskets with new ones. If you cannot find the same ones, you can thoroughly clean them, dry them and install them in place, having previously lubricated all joints with silicone sealant.

Button sticks or sinks

A flush button problem is usually caused by the stem catching on the valve mechanism when fully pushed in and jamming. At the same time, replacing the button itself often does nothing. There are several solutions.

The simplest thing is to unscrew the button, press it a little, drowning it a couple of millimeters, and then install it in place, holding it in this slightly pressed position. So the part looks a little recessed, but thanks to the reduced stroke, it will not jam at the extreme point.

For the same purpose, you can cut a 2–3 mm high ring from a plastic bottle cap and place it under the button. To do this, press the latches on the sides of the mechanism with a screwdriver and pull the button out of the case.

How to fix breakage of toilet bowls with a plastic cistern

Leakage on the cuff of the drain pipe

The rubber sleeve that connects the cistern tube to the toilet outlet dries out over time, loses its elasticity and begins to leak. Repairing the toilet in this case consists in replacing the problematic part. First you need to turn off the water and rinse.

If you cannot find a new part, you can install a 50/40 mm rubber reducer instead. In contrast to the cuff, it is inserted inside the toilet bowl, and is not put on top of it. Otherwise, there is no difference, and this will not affect the operation of the mechanism.

As a temporary solution, you can carefully remove the old cuff, clean and dry it, and then install it with silicone sealant on the joints.

Leaking tank nut

Water leaks through the drain pipe nut due to the gasket that is installed from the inside of the tank. Often it is cut by burrs from casting defects on the pipe or displaced to the side when twisted. Also, the membrane itself may be of poor quality.

To eliminate the defect, turn off the tap at the inlet to the tank, flush out the water and remove the drain valve by first unscrewing the decorative nut on the bell, and then the clamping nut. Next, you need to clean the burrs with a sharp knife along the entire surface of the gasket and assemble everything in the reverse order, securely holding the pipe by hand while tightening the nut.

If this does not help, most likely, the gasket itself is of poor quality. In this case, you need to cut a new one from a suitable piece of rubber with a thickness of 2–2.5 mm, using the old part as a template or outlining the pipe with a pencil.

Leak at the junction of the drain pipe

Water leakage at the junction of the pipe and drain occurs due to poor fit or deformation of the tapered gasket. And it needs to be replaced with a new one. If such a gasket is not at hand, you can temporarily seal the joint with FUM tape.

To do this, close the water supply to the tank and drain it. Then unscrew the decorative nut, slightly slide down the tapered gasket and wind three or four turns of FUM-tape into the gap formed. Then the gasket must be lifted up, tightened the wound tape, and then tighten the decorative nut, holding it by hand on the branch pipe so that it does not turn.

How to adjust the toilet fittings

The flush and fill valves must be correctly set for the toilet to function properly. Otherwise, the flush will be poor, because the tank is not filled up enough or the water is not drained as it should.

How to set up the filling mechanism of a compact toilet

In valves with a float inside the glass, it is necessary to remove the tank lid, shut off and drain the water. By pressing the glass holder, you should set it at such a height that the upper edge of the part corresponds to the mark on the overflow pipe (usually about 2 centimeters from its top). Then snap off the adjustment rod, lower the float to the bottom of the glass, make sure that the bracket rests against the bottom, and then click the rod to fix the position of the float.

In mechanisms without a glass, everything is much simpler. The height of the float and, accordingly, the amount of water in the tank is adjusted by twisting and unscrewing a long threaded rod. The higher the float, the more water is collected, the lower - the less.

How to set up the flush mechanism for a compact toilet

To adjust, unscrew the button, remove the cover and remove the drain fittings, after flushing the water and turning off the tap at the inlet. Next, you need to return the lid to its place and measure with a tape measure the distance from its top to the bottom of the tank.

Remove the cover again and replace the drain valve. Then tighten the button, release the tie rod and adjust the height of the mechanism so that the distance to the bottom of the button corresponds to the previously measured one. Missing millimeters are easy to catch due to the thread of the button, without turning it all the way.

The next step is to set the frame of the mechanism at an angle downward and secure in this position using the rod lock. At the same time, the button moves freely in the guides, and the pusher does not raise the frame so that the valve does not open slightly.

In neutral position, the drain valve is closed and should be fully raised when the button is pressed. If the adjusting rod rests against the bottom of the tank, it should be cut off.

Finally, it is important to ensure that the mechanism frame does not touch the overflow tube when the button is pressed. If this happens, you need to remove the mechanism and lower the frame below. To do this, unscrew the nut, carefully slide the O-ring and, having sunk the tube a few millimeters, tighten the nut.

How to adjust the old-style reservoir float valve

In old toilets with a plastic cistern, the water level is very easy to adjust. If it is a wire rocker, just bend it to raise or lower the valve to the desired height. In more modern versions with a plastic hinge, it is necessary to loosen the screw connecting the two halves of the rocker and give it one shape or another.