Did you know that as much far as 80,000 gallons of water can be wasted every year by an undetected toilet tank leak? It makes economic and environmental sense to sometimes check the toilets round your home. Also for older ballcock/flush ball toilet tank valves, a full line of new elements is still widely available. Or, you can install modern plastic devices rather than repairing the initial parts. The essential functioning components of the old-style ballcock/flush valve toilet tank (a) and the contemporary tank with plastic valves (b). Find out more about do it yourself fix it here.
A good amount of toilet flush tanks work in the identical way. The tank contains 2 valves–a flush valve and a refill valve. 1 type of refill valve is typically called a ballcock.
When the flush valve fails to seat properly, water is leaked easily from the tank into the bowl. The leaked tank water is refilled by the refill valve, causing a continuous flow of wasted water.
If the refill valve leaks, the tank overfills, and the excess water runs from the overflow pipe into the toilet bowl. A waterlogged float causes overflowing, even if the refill valve itself is working right.
You can test for a leaky flush valve awfully simply, as shown. Turn off the water supply to the toilet. The shutoff valve is found beneath the tank on the left side as you face the toilet. Mark the water level, then check it once more in 20 minutes. If the water level has fallen below your mark, the flush valve is leaking. If not, the flush valve didn’t leak, and you know that any leaks are being caused by the refill valve.
To check each the flush valve and the refill valve for leaking, merely put a little food coloring or laundry bluing in the toilet tank to color the water. Do this when the tank is fully refilled when a flush. Do not flush the tank once more till you have inspected the toilet bowl–a few minutes later–for signs of color. If the bowl water has a hue, there’s a leak.
