Why your toilet keeps running, and what it costs you

What it costs to ignore

A toilet that runs constantly can waste hundreds of gallons of water a day. You may not hear a slow leak at all. If your bill went up and nothing else changed, check the toilets first.

The dye test

Take the lid off the tank and put a few drops of food coloring in the tank water. Do not flush. Wait fifteen minutes. If color shows up in the bowl, water is leaking past the flapper.

The three usual causes

• The flapper: the rubber seal at the bottom of the tank. It warps and hardens with age and hard water, and stops sealing.
• The fill valve: the tall assembly that refills the tank. When it wears out it does not shut off, and water runs down the overflow tube.
• The float or chain: a float set too high overfills the tank, and a chain that is too short holds the flapper open.

What you can fix yourself

A flapper is a few dollars at a hardware store and takes ten minutes to swap. Shut off the valve behind the toilet, flush to empty the tank, unhook the old flapper, and clip on a new one of the same size. Adjusting the float or adding a link of slack to the chain is free.

When to call

• A new flapper did not stop it. The seat it seals against may be pitted.
• The shutoff valve behind the toilet is stuck or leaks when you turn it.
• Water is showing up on the floor around the base.
• The toilet is old enough that parts keep failing one after another.

A small job done right

Mickey fixes running toilets and dripping faucets the same way he does big jobs: he tells you the price first and fixes the actual problem. If the toilet is worth repairing he repairs it. If it is not, he will say so and quote a replacement.