Toilet Repair & Installation

What usually goes wrong

Running constantly

Nine times out of ten this is a worn flapper or a fill valve that no longer shuts off. Both are inexpensive parts. Left alone, a running toilet can add thousands of gallons to a monthly bill.

Weak or incomplete flush

Mineral buildup in the rim jets is the usual cause in San Diego. Hard water slowly closes them off until the bowl no longer clears properly.

Water on the floor at the base

Usually a failed wax ring, sometimes a cracked flange underneath. This one should not wait, because the subfloor is absorbing water every time the toilet is used.

Phantom flushing

The tank is losing water into the bowl through a bad seal, so the fill valve kicks on periodically with nobody in the room.

Rocking or loose

Loose closet bolts, or a flange sitting below the finished floor. Rocking eventually breaks the wax seal, so it is worth fixing before it becomes a leak.

Repair or replace

Worth repairing

If the porcelain is sound and the problem is internal hardware, repair is almost always the better value. Flappers, fill valves, supply lines and wax rings are all modest parts.

Worth replacing

Cracked porcelain, a bowl that needs multiple flushes by design, or a very old high-volume unit. Modern high-efficiency toilets use a fraction of the water and have improved a lot since the poor-performing early models.

Related services

• Drain Cleaning
• Leak Detection & Repair
• Faucet & Fixture Repair