Flappers, trip levers, fill valves, and plumbing connections: These all have a similar lifespan of about four or five years. Wax seals: These tend to last around 20-30 years.
While toilet flappers are normally pretty durable, they can wear out over time. The average toilet flapper lasts about 4 to 5 years. It is important that you replace your toilet flapper when needed to prevent damaging leaks.
A constantly running toilet is one sign of a worn-out flapper. To test your flapper's performance, put a few drops of food coloring into the tank water. Don't flush the toilet. If after 30 minutes you find colored water in the toilet bowl, replace the flapper yourself or call a plumber to do the job for you.
Flappers tend to deteriorate over time, usually because of their constant interaction with in-tank cleaning products and chemicals found in the water. They can cause the flapper to warp, crumble, and eventually lose its seal over the flush tube, allowing water to leak through.
Get a Flapper with a Chain Float
A chain float helps the flapper stay open a bit longer, allowing more water to enter the bowl for a better flush. You can adjust the float up or down on the chain to fine-tune how long the flapper remains open.
Perhaps surprisingly, your hard-working toilet flapper simply needs a little maintenance and, apart from being covered with blemishes, can last between 3 and 5 years (sometimes more, if you are lucky). There are certain cleaning products formulated to help remove deposits from submerged elements.
However, over time a flapper will eventually corrode, crack, and start to leak. A leaking flapper allows water to leak into the bowl of your toilet, which is wasteful, and can waste hundreds of gallons of water per year if not fixed.
If your toilet flapper is worn out, it won't be able to seal up the bottom of your toilet tank properly. When this happens, water from the tank will seep through the openings in the flapper and drip down into the bowl.
Although durable, the flapper can wear out over time, providing a less-than-perfect seal. The result is an audible trickle, punctuated by an occasional surge of supply water topping off the tank.
Flappers come in two different sizes: 2-inch and 3-inch. The majority of toilets use 2-inch flappers. However, there are some that use 3-inch flappers, including many high-efficiency toilets. The larger flush valve produces a more powerful flush with less water.
Petroleum jelly is waterproof, but to get it to stick to your flapper, you need to drain the tank and let the flapper dry out. A liberal coating around the bottom of the flapper will revitalize the rubber and make it supple again. It should once again mold around the rim of the siphon hole and make a seal.
According to Fixr, the average toilet valve repair cost is between $75 and $200 to replace a flush valve or up to $400 to fix a constantly running toilet. This includes the cost of the plumber's time for the toilet repair and the cost of the toilet parts.
It is a good idea to turn the water off to the toilet before replacing the flapper, though you can replace some styles in under a minute! Just one less distraction from doing the best job you can.
Are all toilet flappers universal? No. There are universal designs like the Fluidmaster flappers that replace most other flappers and there are specialty flappers for specific flushing systems.
Drop about 4 to 5 food coloring drops in the toilet tank. You may want to use a dark color such as blue or red. Wait 20 to 30 minutes and then survey the toilet bowl. If the colored water appears in the bowl within 15 minutes, there is a leak in the flapper valve.
If your loo is constantly dribbling, it's probably leaky. What's a leaky loo? A 'leaky loo' usually refers to clean water leaking from your cistern down into your toilet bowl. If you have one, you may notice a steady trickle of water at the back of the bowl or hear a constant dripping sound inside the tank.
On average, most toilets will have a lifespan of between 10 and 15 years, even with regular use. The lifespan may vary depending on the toilet model and the wear and tear it experiences over the years. Most toilets will start to give you warning signs indicating the time for replacement is near.
Fill a bucket with at least one gallon of water. Begin by pouring the water into the bowl, slowly at the beginning while gradually speeding up and dump the remainder of the water into the bowl. If done correctly, the water should push the waste in the toilet through the pipes, and your toilet will flush.
The good news is that fixing the overwhelming majority of toilet leaks is extremely simple—they can usually be traced to one small part. Your toilet flapper is a small rubber stopper in the bottom of your toilet tank which prevents water from the tank from flowing down into the bowl below.
Remove the tank cover and observe the water level. If it's at the level of the overflow tube, it's too high, and water is probably draining into the tube. Reset the level by adjusting the float, which may be attached to the overflow tube or may be a ball on the end of a metal rod.
If the toilet keeps running or runs intermittently, you're not getting a good seal. Try a different flapper if the toilet won't stop running. If you just can't find a flapper that seals, consider replacing the entire toilet overflow tube/flapper. On most toilets (two-piece), this means removing the tank.
This problem is almost certainly caused by a bad flapper or flapper seat. The solution is to drain the tank and bowl, check and clean the flapper seat and then replace the flapper if it's worn or damaged.
A majority of toilets will use the two inch flapper; however three inch flappers have become popular in recent years and can be found in newer toilets manufactured since 2005. An easy reference for determining your toilet's flapper size is to look at the flush valve drain opening at the bottom of your tank.