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Fixing Common Toilet Problems in London

Fixing Common Toilet Problems in London

The bathroom is used by every member of a family without any exception. This is why it is very usual for it to create most of the plumbing problems. Most of the times, the toilet and the bathtub or shower get clogged or leak. 

The toilet tank is where all the important fixtures take place and where most of your toilet maintenance will appear. The purpose of the tank is to enclose the water required to flush the toilet and to hide the plumbing device that fills and drains the tank. Related with a blocked toilettank problems can seem quite irrelevant.

Yet, weird noises or constant water running can be more than irritating and they can also be costing you money for the wasted water.

Our plumbers in London can solve most of the tank difficulties rapidly and simply and can give you information, in order to preserve your plumbing system. Below, our local plumbers explain the most common problems that can appear in the bathroom, and especially related to the toilet and how to fix them. We offer fast plumbing repair solutions for London homeowners in order to reduce the discomfort caused by such issues.

The most common problems of a toilet

A toilet is made of two important components, without taking into consideration the piping system it is connected to. These components are the tank and the bowl. Out of these two, many times, the first problems appear in the tank. While the toilet bowl does not have any valves, the tank has two important valves which usually get broken. The flush handle is another part of the toilet tank that can cause problems.

In order to understand how the toilet tank can get broken, you should know it has a flush valve and a fill valve. The flush valve opens when you push or pull the handle in order to release and pressure the water out of the tank, while the fill valve, most commonly known as the ballcock, which holds the water in the tank after the refill.

How can plumbers near me repaire the toilet tank?

Once the plumber in London knows how the toilet works, he can begin to look for the cause of the toilet tank issues. He will lift the cover of the toilet reservoir and will be able to follow the process quite simple.

If the water stays, the plumber will know that the float ball doesn’t grow adequate to lower the controller plunger in the ballcock assembly. A cause could be that the float ball is rubbing against the lateral of the tank.

If this is the problem, our plumber in London will curve the float arm slightly to transfer the ball away from the tank side.

The common toilet problems that our local plumbers can fix are:

•    slow tank fill;
•    double flusher;
•    weak flusher;
•    bowl water level drops;
•    slugging flush;
•    whistling tank fill.

Fixing a clogged toilet in London

If the toilet water doesn’t go down it means that the toilet is blocked. In this case, our team in London will make sure that water is not backing up into another drain, like the shower or the bathtub.

Plunging a blocked toilet can splash dirty water around the zone, therefore, old clothes and some walls protection might be a good idea, as our plumbers in London recommend when they begin to fix your toilet problems.

The plumber in London will scrub the washbasin with a toilet brush, particularly up under the edge where the rinse holes are. He will turn off the water source valve, will flush the toilet to clear the bowl and then will plunge the bowl to force out all of the remaining water. 

Repairing a toilet fill valve in London

The toilet fill valve is a mechanism that permits the tank to fill with water to the proper level. The water is deposited in the tank until the toilet is flushed and this valve uses a drift to turn the water on and off.

The fill valve or ballcock will usually create most of the problems in a toilet and in order to know if it can be fixed or not, you should first know that there are several types of ballcocks a tank can be equipped with. These are:

  •           the plunger-type of valve which is made of brass and is quite resistant;
  •           the diaphragm-type which can be made of brass or plastic (the new ones are made of plastic);
  •           the float cup which is usually made of plastic and is quite common nowadays;
  •           the floatless-type which is not often used as it is not accepted under certain standards.

Out of these, plastic ballcocks are the easiest to get broken, because they are less resistant to pressure. If you decide to repair a fill valve, you should know that it is better to replace it, as it can get broken again very soon. This is a common toilet problem which you can be fixed as a DIY job, however, new types of fill valves can require the attention of a London plumbing professional.  The valve can run bad and can get to the point where even after correcting the float, the toilet will continue to run, wasting water. In this case, the plumber will replace the fill valve.

Repairing low bowl water level

In case there is a low water level in the toilet bowl, this might happen because of two reasons:

• the water might be slowly siphoned by a partial blockage in the bowl colon. To check if this is the issue, the toilet bowl is emptied of water by our plumber in London and, utilizing a flashlight and a mirror, he will look inside the toilet colon. In such cases, our local plumbers will unclog the bowl colon;

• other times, the toilet bowl could have a crack inside the colon or bowl piping. This can be fixed only by setting up a new toilet bowl.

Fixing a flush valve in a toilet

If the fill valve is easier to repair, we cannot say the same about the flush valve. This piece is usually made of plastic in newer toilet tanks or in brass in older types of tanks. Located at the bottom of the tank, it opens in order to release the water, after which it should close. The most common problem you could have with the flush valve is that it won’t close, and the water will keep on running down the tank. It is usually the flapper that will not seal the opening of the valve to get broken. The flapper is usually made of rubber or neoprene and can get dull in time and thus become unable to perfectly seal the opening.

Our emergency plumber in London can replace this flapper, in case you need help and cannot locate the exact source of the problem.

This service can also be provided by our plumbers in Ilford. If you are located in this town, we highly recommend you contact our plumbers. Please do not try to fix the toilet valve by yourself, especially if you do not have any experience in dealing with plumbing.

Even though the procedure may not look complicated, it can end up in more issues that can lead to replacing the water tank.

Fixing a broken flush handle in the bathroom

Another common toilet problem is a loose flush handle. You will know that it is the cause of your problem when you push or pull it, and nothing happens. This is because it has gotten loose or totally disconnected from the tank. Our London plumbing professionals can reattach the wire or chain that lifts the arm of the flapper or, in more complicated situations, when the mounting nut requires being rotated, our plumbers will adjust it. Even if this seems an easy problem, it would require an expert hand and our plumbers have the necessary tools to fix broken flush handles.

Fixing a constantly running toilet in London

If you have a constantly running toilet in your bathroom, there can be different solutions to this issue, such as:

• the level of water in the toilet tank is too high, causing the water to spill into the overflow pipe. In this case, our local plumbers will regulate the water level in the toilet tank;

our plumber ensures the tank ball lift wire is straight and that the tank ball comes directly on the center of the flush valve opening;

• the flush valve does not seal properly. In such a situation, we will check the tank ball or flapper ball and replace it if it is damaged or became soft;

• the plunger or diaphragm ballcock does not turn off entirely. To solve this issue, our London plumbing professionals bend the float arm to shove the float ball more deeply into the water.

Tips on fixing common toilet issues

When finding something in the toilet has stopped working properly, it is best to verify and make sure what the cause of the problem is and where its location is. If you need to remove the tank lid, make sure to lift it easily in order to avoid breaking the wire or chain connecting the flush to the flapper. Also, if you need to tighten any loose parts, make sure you don’t overtighten them or rotate them in the wrong direction. If you need to replace any broken part, make sure you purchase one that fits your toilet. At last, if you find it hard to repair the toilet or you cannot locate the source of the problem, which can often mean a burst pipe underneath the tiles, better call our plumbers in London who can resolve the problem without causing more damage.

For any other problems regarding your toilet bowl or tank, or for any other plumbing services in London, please contact our team of plumbing contractors. You can rely on our plumbing services for various problems in your bathroom or any other parts of the house. You can also rely on us for emergency plumbing issues in London.

You can always address to our team in the case in which you want to repipe a house. This is a more complex plumbing service and first, our team should come to the premises and analyze the situation.

Our plumbers will explain the procedure that will be used, the types of pipes available for replacement, the estimate duration of the procedure and the costs you can expect to pay.