✅ Parts in this running toilet repair video, be sure to buy the right flapper for your toilet! ✅ Fluidmaster 504 2-Inch Universal Toilet Flapper: amzn.to/2Z9MY5H ✅ Korky Large 3-Inch Flapper For American Standard Cadet 3 Toilet: amzn.to/2NbdJEt
I don’t keep my old flapper and replace with the new one which doesn’t fix the running water. I measure my flush valve hole it is 2.25” so I don’t see many flapper with this size. Can you give me what and where to buy the correct size flapper. My tank is Kohler and installed in 1987 when I build my house. I appreciate for your help.
Thanks Jeff, Five years ago I changed the whole inside, taking everything apart, putting in a new system. I had to buy a huge flat wrench. Home depot said, it was what I needed to disconnect the bottom part. Now, I have to replace the flapper. Thanks for schooling me!
Thank you so much Jeff I actually have to do this in my upstairs bathroom toilet because sometimes the flapper doesn't go back where it was and it leaves the water running and it is pretty annoying. You are awesome and I'm following in your footsteps as I'm ripping my suspended ceiling out and returning it back to the height it was and installing drywall. I also know how to install outlets and lots about electricity I'm trying to do exactly what you do. :)
Lana Awesome, I would recommend doing all your toilets at once, if they have not been done before. You'll be quite happy with that ceiling project afterwards, they look so cool when you have full height back on your ceiling again, and no more "grandma lighting"
@@jeffostroff the downstairs one was already done but the upstairs one is the one that needs it and haha yeah I know I get to rip it down tomorrow track and all and I have 11 sheets of ⅜ drywall I'm so excited to get rid of it and you should see my ceiling fan it's pretty bad lol the old landlord has it mounted with duct tape and fixed all the holes from leaks in the roof with duct tape it's insane lol if I could I would show you but the only way for you to see is if I took a video of it lol
Hello I just watched your video because my toilet sounded like it was flushing every minute and it was the chain that wasn't connected too flush, thanks 😁 problem is now fixed
Started watching a few of your videos on sink drain stoppers and as i was about to hit the bed, luckily this video came along!!!! Been having this issue with my 2 toilets and i would never imagine it would be this simple to fix. Was soooo close to call a plumber in for it! Thanks for an awesome video!!!
I am 62yrs old,my toilet flush all the times, I have had this company to come out to fix It for me and they charge me $230. about 4yrs ago and I am still having the same problem after seeing your videoI will fix it myself thank you so much,I wii let you know how it turn out.🙂👧👍🏻
My dad used to mess with the chain a lot. I think he thought the chain was too loose. I wish I'd just looked this up when I was in highschool...im glad your video was able to help me solve this!
Hi Jeff, glad I stumbled on this helpful video. Do you happen to have a video on how to fix a leak that’s coming from the water shutoff valve that connects to a toilet?
Thanks a million for your video and your calculations cuz I figured exactly like you did and I noticed you did the same thing I did to my toilet a week a go after I noticed it runs water every 15 minutes after that I decide to install the whole kit for my bother’s toilet and simply I upgraded that toilet and now it's very quite plus I had feeling that I have leake somewhere in my house after two high bills for two months then I had that feeling to investigate that.
Thanks for saving me from calling a plumber or something. I could handle this one easy peezy lemon squeezy. I'll jump on this right away cause the sound is driving me crazy!! Thanks for your help!!
Thank you ... I just found your videos this looks easy enough for me to fix it ...I subscribed can’t wait to see other videos. Do you have any on fixing a whole in the kitchen floor that I could watch 😁
Thank you so much for this video. I have same issue and plumber came to my home and he has replaced flapper twice but still my toilet flushing itself. Do I need to check size of flapper and need to buy new one?
The problem with toilets and flappers is that most people just change the flapper and think they're done but they don't clean the rim of the opening where the flapper rests on sometimes those get slimy and they allow water to seep through or sometimes they might put on a flapper they think is the correct one for your toilet and it might be slightly off. you also want to make sure that the chain dangling off of the flush arm has enough slack that it allows the flapper to drop all the way down to completely make contact all the way around the rim of that opening when the flapper is all the way down you want to make sure that the flapper makes it to the bottom.
A major obstacle here is that if your toilet has a hard flapper, it's harder to remove it and you'd likely prefer to get the soft alternative that also works, rather than another hard one, which would be harder to install, especially without breaking an ear on the flush valve. If you have a soft flapper, then this would be an easy repair.
Wow another great video basic and to the point. Thanks for throughly explaining the steps and doing so in such a calm manner. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.👍😊
The old Flapper on mine was way harder to remove than the one u see on here. I had to use a pair of Scissors to cut the ends off attached. The old Flapper was stiff and the new one much more flexible, but the new one didn't fix my running toilet problem though. And the ring it sits on looks fairly clean, I wiped it cleaner with a nylon sponge. So, looks like I be calling the plumber to fix the fill valve or whatever else is wrong. This is a good video for those lucky enough to just have a Flapper issue though 🙂
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Let us know what your final fix was, it could be your fill valve just was not shutting off, or level float was not set right
@@jeffostroff I just replaced the Fluid Master refill valve. and that fixed the problem. I got the universal one and since my pipe on the old refill valve was ok still, I just removed the top part of it that was not working by simply sliding the cuff holding it in place up, & taking the the old one off, and sliding the new upper part on to the pipe and sliding the cuff down on new part to hold in place. And attaching the hose back in place to refill tube. Easy fix. Don't forget to cut the water off with the shut-off valve before replacing the part 🙂
My neighbor has a toilet that if you depress the handle once it will flush twice. She said a plumber installed it. I want my toilet to do that also, my question is where do I find the flusher. Been to Lowe’s and Menards and they have no clue?😔
We bought the whole kit for our toilet it came with a new flapper. We are still having the flushing problem. We replaced the flapper with a new one I don’t know what else to do.
If you are still getting leaking it seems that maybe the new flapper is not completely sealing correctly against the 2 inch or three inch opening at the bottom of the tank. Make sure you cleaned off the area where the flapper will contact at the bottom of the tank sometimes grime will accumulate there and water can leak out through there. Also make sure you got the right size flapper is it the exact same size as the one it replaced? And was that one even the right size? Also check for cracks around that opening at the bottom of the tank it could be that you're losing water through the air as well it's getting out somehow.
Try shortening the hose from valve to the flapper stem. If that hose is low enough to touch the water, it may vacuum back up lowering the water level. It’s a very simple fix. (I saw that trick in another video, or put 4-5 brass washers to weigh down the flapper to put weight on it for better seal)
Yes they had it setup strange. It doe snot hurt anything, but having inside the tube does make sure you are sending the overflow water down to the toilet bowl.
Okay so I need some help and hopefully not mentally speaking😂seriously though…..we have an upstairs bathroom that never gets used because our kids are now in college and we rarely go up there. I have a cleaning crew that comes twice a month and the toilet cleaner we use is blue. In the 3 downstairs bathrooms, that water remains blue until someone uses the toilet and flushes. A couple of months ago I went upstairs and noticed the water in the toilet was not blue even though the cleaning crew had just cleaned a couple of days before. Naturally, I assumed they forgot to clean that toilet, and that kind of ticked me off. So I gently mentioned it and they insisted they cleaned it. So I watched the next time they came, and sure enough they cleaned the toilet and the water was blue. I happened to go upstairs a week later and the water was not blue even though I had seen that it was blue days before! I had definitely not used that toilet nor had my husband. I freaked out and told my husband I think that someone had broken into our home 😂 He laughed and said “yep, of course that’s probably what a lot of robbers do they break into your home, steal nothing leave no signs only use the upstairs toilet and flush.”….in my defense I seriously had an eerie feeling about this, and it bothered me. OK so we went out of town Friday morning and we got back this afternoon and our cleaning folks had been here on Wednesday and they definitely cleaned the toilet with the blue cleaner because of course I check now…. First thing I did when we got home this afternoon was to go upstairs and lo and behold not only is there no B blue water but at first I thought it was remnants of poop in there, but upon closer inspection, it just looked to be some sort of black debris and I don’t have a clue what it was and at this point my husband is super irritated with me and wouldn’t even go look. I’m of course terrified and want to move and if it was a Random flush from water leakage, we would hear it and I have certainly not heard any toilets flushing -mind you we were out of town so if it flushed I wouldn’t have heard it, but all the other times I’ve been home and heard nothing. Like seriously I’m thinking something is going on here and it’s terrifying.😂🤷🏻♀️😩 has anybody ever had this happen?
Most likely, your flapper is just slightly out of whack, and it's allowing a little bit of water to leak. What you want to do is put a pencil line on the back of the tank at the water level line and see if it drops Uber a few days period sometimes these leaks are so slow, and it might try to do a 1/2 of a flush, and you might not be around when it happens and then it starts. To fill the tank back up with fresh water again. So eventually you run out of blue water. But I would try just changing the flapper and see. If that alleviates your problem, it just seems like a very, very slow leak.
@@jeffostroff thank you so much! I am going to share this with my husband…I was definitely thinking someone could be living unbeknownst to us in our finished attic….way too many Lifetime movies I guess! 😂
Hey Jeff you missed the refill tribe it should be stuck into the overflow tube not outside of for filling up the tank the refill tube the purpose of it is to refill the bowl at a certain level so you get a good flush just wanted to bring it to your attention
My tank looks just like this one on the inside I replaced flapper and it is still topping off every 15 minutes maybe it's the gasket between the tank and lower part of Bowl??
watch your bowl carefully, see if you see water moving at all, then you know it is coming from tank. Maybe your tank gasket, and may be a crack in the tank near the bottom.
The flapper or the float itself can cause it. You can adjust the float upward to make the water stop running in hat tube. IF that does not help, time for a new $15 flush valve
I changed my flapper but the toilet is still running, once you flush the water is not staying in the area in the tank is it still leaking, I don't want another 600 water bill
Is it leaking from the flapper area? Any cracks in that plastic at the bottom where the flapper attaches? Watch the tank water level on the refill, the water should rise up to 1/2" below the top of the pipe, and the float should stop it from rising further. Make sure the problem you are still seeing is not the water continuously running due to the float level being off. Also, try cleaning the plastic where flapper seals against on the bottom of the tank, it might have slime or other buildup on it. Make sure you bought the right size flapper, make sure there is enough slack on your chain to allow the flapper to hit all the way down on the bottom and seal against the base of the tank. Make sure the flapper is connected on both hinges. Let us know what you find.
I replaced the flapper and the rest of the insides of the toilet, but it is still leaking. I did the leak test and the water stopped leaking when it reached the flapper, so, what do you think the problem is now?
Maybe the flush valve float is not floating all the way up to shut the water? If you changed the flapper and it's still doing it, are you sure you have the right flapper? Did you clean the mouth of the drain pipe where the flapper rests? Sometimes there is a slimy feel to it, and you just use a rag with bit of soap to clean it. Also, make sure the chain has slack enough to let the flapper rest all the way down to make a 100% seal. Did you put the flapper correctly on the 2 tabs on either side of the pipe, and does it picot up and close down sealed perfectly like a hinge?
Thank you for your very informative video! I think this is the problem in our bathroom. When I tried to shut off the water pipe next to the toilet it started vibrating and making jack hammer noises. I shut it off last night and it was fine, and then reopened it this morning, but now when I'm trying to fix it started doing the jackhammer and hissing noises when I tried to shut it off. Is that normal or safe? How do I address that? I stopped because it scared me and opened it back up again but now the water running sounds are happening more. Our last month's water bill was insane, but I only started noticing noises from the toilet few days ago, and I suspect it is flushing itself every 2-5 mins now.
Can't tell what the noises are without seeing it. But depending on how old your toilet is, you might need to replace the whole fluidmaster valve which is about $15. Sounds like you definitely need to change the flapper.
Wow thank you for your super quick reply!! I’m in an apartment building that is 7 years old. So it’s pretty new but you are probably right about the flapper and the valve needing to be replaced. I put in a request for maintenance to check it out but in the mean time I wanted to turn off the water and was just worried that I wouldn’t be able to do that because it made that vibrating noise when I tried few hours ago. I turned on a faucet in the bathroom and then tried shutting off the water pipe by the toilet again and it worked without any issue this time. Will wait for a professional to check it out lol. Better safe than sorry. Thanks for a very informative video, I’ll def be checking out your channel for more videos esp when I move into my own house. :)
Dear Jeff, I watched with great interest your video on 'phantom' flushing and how to stop it. However, I have a 'dual ' flush tank. What modifications do I have to make in your original video instructions to stop this phantom flushing? Could there possibly be some other cause besides the flapper? Thanks in anticipation of your advice.
I don't think you would have to do anything unless you have two flappers in that toilet. So the flapper was really the most common place for it to leak out water. Make sure that the controls and the chain are not pulling up on the flapper with too much tension that would allow water to seep under it as well. But my guess is that your flapper is simply just worn and needs to be changed
Whenever you change the flopper it's a good idea to clean the area that the flower comes in contact with maybe there's some grime built up there that is allowing water to leak through. Also make sure that the hinge Post which the Connect to on either side make sure they are in good shape. Lastly make sure when the flapper was installed that the that the machine has a slack on it that it does not in tension and tight. If the chain is too tight and in tension, then it might pull the flopper up enough to allow some water to see out of it
If you have replaced the flapper with a new one, chain length is right, the point where the flapper meets the toilet has been sanded and the fill tube is at a high point well above water level and you still get a ghost flush about once every 24 hours, any idea what that could be? Originally the flapper broke and it appeared to be an easy replacement but for some reason it didn't quite work. Before the old flapper broke, no ghost flushes
i used a Fluidmaster 2" to replace a similar Fluidmaster except this one has that float on it which keeps the chain up. I can remember I had trouble once before with a new flapper that came with a kit but this one I bought separately worked well for years. I'm thinking as you do that maybe the new flapper is allowing water to leak out. Don't see any crack in the plastic tube. Thanks for your speedy reply!
@@jeffostroff Same problem. I replaced the flapper and put in a new flush valve O ring and still leaking. The solution was the overflow tube to the overflow pipe. I adjusted is so that it is not directly in the overflow pipe and it fixed my problem. Somehow the water from the overflow tube was too strong when it refills the tank and pushing the flapper up a little and won't seal anymore. Why do we have an overflow tube to drain when it is filling water is my question. It seems to be a lot of water waste.
Have this problem but can't find the exact match for our weird Kohler. Looked everywhere. Is there a way to rig one with plumbers pack? We've just been turning the water to it on and off to keep the well pump from drawing 220. Hoping to remodel bathroom in a year and buy a new toilet then.
Kitty, just measure the distance across your flush valve with a tape measure as I showed in this video, is it 3", or 2"? Then try to buy a universal flapper that matches that width. If that does not work, try to lookup your flapper part number from Kohler's webs site, and usually you can buy the parts on amazon or appliancepartspros. What is your Kohler Model #?
Thanks for the tip, that helped. Found out our installed in '87 toilet K-3386is discontinued and so are the parts. A replacement part is listed that my husband said he tried. We will try it again, but first I have to find it bc I'm not sure where it went. Arg... A new toilet sounds good even if we're not ready for the whole remodel. Just remodelled the kitchen last yr.. Thanks for your help!
First you have to determine is it really a problem of the flapper as that where the water is leaking and for that you pretty much have to stand there and stare at it mark the level of the water see where it is draining from. But what I have seen sometimes is the lip of the opening where the flapper rests on they'll sometimes get slimy and that will have to be cleaned off so you need to rub your fingers around it and make sure it feels nice and grippy not slimy. Also make sure that your flapper is making really good contact, and that there is some slack in the chain because of the chain is intention that means that the flapper will not come all the way down to make contact with the hole even though you think it's there it might be on the hairy edge of making contact. The other thing you can look at is if you have a leak in your flush master on the left side of the toilet, if that thing is leaking causing water to keep coming into the tank, it eventually hits that little overflow level where it wants to flush.
Compare to other technician, this demonstration is not detailed enough for a novice due to some dark lighting and shooting some obscured angles of fixing parts.
Hmmm, maybe in your zeal to focus on "dark lighting" you failed to see all the comments from hundreds of people who said this video helped them complete the repair.
I’m not trolling, nor being rude, but I do believe you could deliver the message in less than five minutes. There’s a lot of unnecessary wording to be honest. Other than that, thank you for the information.
