DIY guideToilet tank

Stop a running toilet

Find out why the tank keeps refilling and fix it: the chain, the water level, or a worn flapper.

6 steps

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Lift the lid off the tank and set it down flat on a towel where it can't fall. Then flush once and watch what happens inside.
The lid is heavy and breaks if it's dropped.
The chain from the handle to the flapper should hang with a little slack. Too tight and the flapper can't close; too loose and it can catch under it. Move the clip a link at a time until the flapper drops shut cleanly.
When the tank refills, the water should stop at the line marked inside the tank, below the top of the overflow tube. If water spills into the tube, lower the float: turn its adjusting screw or slide its clip down.
Put a few drops of food colouring in the tank and don't flush. If colour shows up in the bowl after about 15 minutes, the flapper is leaking.
Turn off the water to the toilet and flush to empty the tank. Unhook the old flapper from its two pegs and the chain, hook the new one on the same way, then turn the water back on.
If the tank still refills on its own, the fill valve may need replacing. Turn off the water to the toilet and ask Handyman for a plumber.

Handyman says: Turn off the water to the toilet. I'll find you a plumber.

Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.