At first glance, a toilet leaking into bowl would probably be a better problem to have then water leaking out of the bowl and onto the floor below. That being said, what might only be considered to you as annoying leak can actually be a sign of a bigger problem. Not only that, each drip into the bowl is costing you money.
First off, what happens when there is toilet running water into bowl is that there’s actually a problem with the tank. After the toilet flushes, the tank is supposed to fill up where it remains until the next time the lever is flushed. When water leaks from the tank into the bowl, the floater acts as if it’s empty and thus flushes your toilet at random. The obvious utility bill concerns of this problem are pretty evident when you realize your toilet can be flushing 10-20x per day or more even when nobody has used it.
Reasons to Fix Toilet Leaking Into Bowl
You might think that your toilet flushing at random is nothing more than a nuisance that you kind of get used to over time. However, the first reason to fix the toilet leaking into bowl is because that is a very costly nuisance. In fact, it’s estimated that a leaky toilet tank can actually cost you up to $70 per month.
Not only are you paying out hundreds of dollars a year for a fix that is less than $20, you’re actually wasting up to 6,000 gallons of water a month with this faulty tank. Your neighbors down the street are using tankless water heaters to lower the strain on the community water supply whereas that leaky tank is spending all those savings.
Fixing the toilet leaking into bowl is not only good for environmental purposes, it also lowers the strain on your home’s plumbing. A leaky toilet could flush when somebody is in the shower or while the washing machine is running or while a faucet is in use – not major issues but a useless drain on your plumbing system nonetheless.
Fixing the Problem
The cause of the toilet tank leaking into bowl is 9 times out of 10 a bad flapper. This rubber component ideally creates a suction seal to keep water in the tank. It can get old and deteriorate from years of exposure to water or it can get dirty or misaligned preventing an entire seal.
Other possible problem areas are the water fill tube becoming misaligned or the intake fill valve leaking or even the ball float getting bent which causes the tank to overflow. Instead of troubleshooting these problems one by one, it’s recommended to simply get a $20+ toilet accessories kit that contains all these components plus usually a lever, replacement gaskets, bolts and more for a complete toilet overhaul. $20 plus professional installation is a small price to pay compared to that of continued, consistent water loss.
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