Your toilets are among the most-used plumbing fixtures in your home. So, it’s not surprising that sometimes you might have problems, like your toilet not flushing right. Below, we’ll take a closer look at how the flushing mechanism works and what simple things you can try to get it working again.
What Is a Toilet Flushing Mechanism?
A toilet flushing mechanism is the name given to a group of components inside your toilet tank responsible for releasing fresh water into the bowl. The mechanism starts when you pull down on the flush lever or hit a button on modern-day toilets. This motion causes the lift chain inside the tank to pull up on the flapper, which allows water into the bowl.
When you release the flush lever, the flapper returns to its normal position covering the hole between the tank and the bowl. Your toilet refills with water until it hits the predetermined threshold where the water shuts off. A malfunction with any of these components can result in a complete failure of your entire flushing mechanism.
Types of Flushing Mechanisms
Before you can do repairs on your flushing mechanism, it’s important to understand the type that you have. There are four different styles, which are gravity-fed, dual-flush, pressure-assisted, and canister-flush. Gravity flush toilet mechanisms are the most common and simply use the natural force of gravity to release water from the tank to the bowl when the flapper opens.
Dual-flush mechanisms are becoming more common. These offer two different options for flushing liquid or solid waste. More water is released when the button for solid waste is pushed as compared to the button for liquid waste.
Pressure-assisted flushing mechanisms use integrated air pressure to create a more forceful flush. A newer technology is the canister flush, which has a vertical lift canister that sits over the hole instead of the flapper. These help provide a more complete flush that’s much quicker than with a flapper.
Not Flushing
The process for repairing your toilet flushing mechanism is dependent on what problem you’re experiencing. If your toilet isn’t flushing, the issue could be a broken handle, a disconnected flapper, or even a loose chain. If you take off the lid of your water tank, you can further assess these different components.
If you notice the chain is no longer attached to the flapper or the handle, you can simply reattach it to repair the issue. If the nut comes off the handle and it’s not working, you may just be able to reattach the nut. Just realize it’s reverse-threaded, so you’ll need to turn it counterclockwise to tighten it.
Constantly Running
Another common problem is your toilet is constantly running. In many cases, the problem is with the flapper not properly sealing to the bottom of the tank. You can manually lift the flapper up and look underneath it to see if there’s any debris or hard water scaling that is preventing a tight seal on the tank. If there is, simply remove the debris or scrape off the hard water to improve the seal. If this doesn’t solve the issue, you may need one of our professionals to replace the flapper for you.
Weak Flush
A weak or incomplete flush happens whenever you notice the bowl isn’t completely emptying. This can be due to a low water level in your tank that requires readjusting from your fill valve. Or, this could be the result of your flapper not fully opening. Because there are many different types of fill valve controls, it can be helpful to have one of our plumbing professionals further assess your toilet and manually adjust the level until it’s right.
Handle Not Working
If the toilet handle on your tank feels overly loose like it wants to fall off, you’ll need to retighten the nut at the back of the handle. If the handle feels overly stiff and won’t move, it usually indicates excessive corrosion on the handle assembly inside the tank. Sometimes you may be able to remove the corrosion with a wire brush for the handle to go back to working like normal. In other cases, you may need to have a professional replace the entire handle assembly.
Expert Toilet Repair Service
Yellow Submarine Plumbing & Rooter provides expert toilet repair service for the Nanaimo, Victoria, and the surrounding areas. If our pros find that you are contending with a more severe problem and discover that you need a new toilet, we can help as we can assist with all your installation and replacement needs. Simply call our office today to book your next plumbing service consultation.
