Silco Plumbing

Why Does My Toilet Keep Running?

If you hear the tank refill when nobody flushed, or the water never quite goes quiet, one of your first questions is probably: “Why won’t this toilet shut off?”

There isn’t one part that fails in every tank. In Kalispell and throughout the Flathead Valley, a running toilet is one of the most common calls we get — and a lot of water can go through it before anyone notices.

That’s because a few small parts inside the tank do a lot of work.

Here are the things that usually cause it.

1. The Flapper

The rubber flapper inside the tank can warp or wear out. When it does not seal, water keeps leaking into the bowl and the tank keeps filling to catch up.

If you have already replaced the flapper and it still runs, tell us that when you call.

2. The Chain

If the chain is too short, too long, or tangled, the flapper cannot sit the way it should. The toilet looks fine. It just never quite stops.

3. The Fill Valve

A fill valve that has failed may keep running long after the tank is full. You will hear it. Sometimes you will see the water in the tank moving when nothing was flushed.

4. The Overflow Tube

If the water level in the tank is set too high, it spills into the overflow tube and the toilet runs constantly. That is a different problem from a worn flapper, even if it sounds the same from the hallway.

Same toilet. Different part. Different job. One house may need a flapper. Another may have a tank that is leaking, cracked, or filling from a part you cannot see from the lid. It is normal for those two calls to be different jobs.

When it is worth calling. Call us if:

• The toilet runs constantly or at random
• You hear refilling when no one flushed
• You have already looked at the flapper and it did not fix it
• The tank itself is leaking or looks cracked

A running toilet is usually not an emergency. It is still worth a call. It can waste a lot of water while it waits.

What should you have ready when you call? You don’t need to take the tank apart. Just tell us what you can hear and see:

• Whether it runs all the time or only sometimes
• Whether you have already replaced a part
• Whether the tank or the floor around it is wet
• Photos of the tank with the lid off, if you are comfortable sending them

Running Toilets in Kalispell & the Flathead Valley. Silco Plumbing helps homeowners with running and leaking toilets in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and surrounding areas—from a noisy tank to a leak you can see. Have questions? Ask us. You don’t have to diagnose the part before you call, and you can send a message instead of calling.

406-471-1851 | silcoplumbingmt.com