Toilet repair
Toilet repair that fixes the cause, not the symptom
Running, rocking, leaking at the base or clogging again. We find what is actually failing and fix it, or replace the toilet when it has had enough.
Chapter 01
The toilet that runs all night, rocks, or clogs again
A toilet is the simplest fixture in the house until it is not. The common calls are the toilet that keeps running after the flush, the one that rocks when you sit down, water pooling around the base, and the one that clogs again a day after you cleared it. Each has a different cause, and guessing wrong means the same call a week later.
A running toilet is almost always inside the tank. A worn flapper or a flush valve that no longer seals lets water leak into the bowl, and the fill valve keeps topping it off. Water at the base points lower, to a failed wax ring or a flange that has shifted or cracked. A toilet that clogs over and over is often not a toilet problem at all. When the fixture is fine and the clog keeps returning, the line behind it is where we look.
Drain auger fed into an open toilet flange with the toilet pulled aside on a tiled floor
Parts, seals and flanges: what we actually replace
Inside the tank, we replace the flush valve, the flapper and the fill valve. They are cheap parts that wear out together, and replacing them as a set stops the chase where one fails a month after the other.
At the base, we pull the toilet, run an auger through the open flange to check what is waiting in the line, inspect the flange itself, and reset the toilet on a new seal. The photo above is that moment: a drain auger fed into an open flange with the toilet pulled aside. If the toilet is cracked, stained through or just tired, we replace it, or fit a new one as part of a bathroom remodel.
We work in homes across Springdale, Fayetteville, Rogers and Bentonville. Older houses in those towns often have a flange that has been loose for years, and a toilet that rocks even slightly will break a wax seal over time.
Chapter 03
Why not let it run
A toilet that runs is a slow leak with a water bill attached. A seal that weeps at the base is worse, because the water goes under the floor covering, into the subfloor and, on an upstairs bathroom, into the ceiling below. By the time you see a stain, the wood has been wet for a while.
Some toilet problems are fair do-it-yourself work. Swapping a flapper is one of them. A rocking toilet, a leak at the base or a clog that keeps coming back is the point to call (479) 790-3527, because the fix involves the flange and the line, and a bad reset costs more than the first call would have.
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Common failures
What the toilet is telling you.
Match the symptom to the likely cause before you buy parts. Most of these are a short visit, and none of them get better on their own.
- Runs after the flushWorn flapper, flush valve that no longer seals, or a fill valve that will not shut off.
- Weak or slow flushMineral buildup at the rim jets, a tired flush valve, or a partial clog further down.
- Water at the baseA failed wax ring, a loose toilet, or a cracked or shifted flange.
- Rocks when you sitA loose closet bolt, or a flange sitting below the finished floor.
- Clogs again and againOften the line behind the toilet, not the toilet. See below.
- Cracked or stained throughReplace or remodel the toilet. A cracked bowl does not repair.
When it keeps coming back
A toilet that clogs twice is a drain question.
If we clear the toilet and it clogs again, we stop treating the fixture and look at the line. The same goes when the tub gurgles as the toilet flushes, or when more than one drain in the house slows down together. That pattern means the trouble is past the toilet, in the branch or the main. Our drain cleaning crews clear it with a cable machine, and when a line keeps returning we put a camera in it so the cause is seen instead of guessed.
Replacing a toilet during a bathroom remodel is a different visit. We handle toilets and showers as part of remodel plumbing, and if the job is large we can talk through financing.
Tell us what the toilet is doing on the contact page or call (479) 790-3527. We give free labor estimates, and the office is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM.