Toilet Fill Valve Not Shutting Off / Don’t Replace / Fix Fast Cheap & Easy For Beginners 

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OMG! Papa Joe!!! I am a 70-yr old woman who thought I was going to go STARK RAVING MAD listening to the toilet run for the past 2 weeks. The maintenance guy in my bldg came & told me it was the big plug at the bottom of the toilet & I needed to buy a new one. WRONG. I could see there was nothing wrong w that plug. So I carefully followed your instructions . You instructed us to click off the top of the gray plastic bit & then unscrew the black part of the tank thingy to the left . So I got it open & saw the other white plastic part was clogged w weird gunk. I removed those nasty chunks w a needle nosed pliers & rinsed out the white plastic thingy with a glass [as you demonstrated] in case there were additional mineral deposits. WORKED LIKE A CHARM!!!!!! Bless you kind sir for your clear & concise demonstration. I still cannot believe I repaired the dang toilet when the maintenance man had NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT lol 🤣 Blessings to you! 💖💓💞

Videos like these are what makes RU-vid great!

Growing up, if my family had house issues we had a family friend who was VERY handy, and we called on his help often. Now he is passed away, and small things here and there have started to pop up at my mom's house that she's asking ME to help with! I'm not a plumber or a handyman, I'm a 20-something with a dead end job and a music hobby. When my mom called me today to ask if I could replace "the thingy in the tank that goes up and down with the water," I let her know I'd be starting from scratch and using the internet to learn on the fly. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for making this sort of information so readily accessible.

I wanted to say thank you. My water bill was 9 times as much as usual because my toilet was constantly running. I JUST changed the whole assembly in the back too. Had no idea why. I opened up the back like you showed and dude there was a huge rock in there lol

Thank you Joe. I was waiting my husband to fix it. But he was very busy with his work schedule. So I decided to fix it by my self by watching on yt video. Your video help me alot. I don't even need to change the rubber. Just clean the rubber and boom. Its fixed. Thanks. Bless you

👍🏽 Thank you joe !!! I’ve never attempted to fix anything in a toilet before but your explanation was great. I’ve been living with a running toilet for 1.5 years and I fixed it in less than 30 minuets. It feels great to fix something on my own.😊

Thanks Joe, single Mom here. My toilet was running on & off. I watched your video & replaced my fill valve seal. It worked like a charm. 😊

You are a bonafide cape-wearing hero! I had budgeted time to go to the hardware store to find/buy the whole assembly and replace it. Turns out, the seal was fine but there was some debris preventing it from sealing. Cleaned it out and voila, now I'm the hero to my wife. Thank you Papa Joe!

This video was extremely helpful, while I didn’t need to replace anything, just follow your steps caused the noise to stop. I appreciate this, thank you 🙏🏽

Thanks to you....two "older" women followed your instructions and VOLIA! We are subscribers.

Thanks for the informative video! I usually do all my own plumbing but hired my first plumber on a new bathroom remodel at my wife's urging. He replaced supply line, shut off valve, and installed new toilet. The very next day, the valve wouldn't shut off. Upon inspection , and thanks to your video, huge chunks of rust had found their way inside the brand new fill valve just as you described. Your tutorial worked like a charm! Mama is happy again. Thanks Papa Joe!

Toilet wouldn't stop running. Thanks to your informative video I was able to take valve cover off and discovered a broken bit of plastic was jammed in there. Removed that, put cover back on, no more problems!

I was skeptical but it actually worked, there was a little pebble in the seal that was stopping it from closing and stopping water flow

Thanks to you, I easily replaced the washer to my fluid master. I ordered 2 of them from Amazon for a total of almost $4.00! Works perfectly. Finished in seconds. Thanks again. Oh, my local plumbing supply store told me that I’d never find just the washer anywhere. WRONG! I saved so much money because of you.

Thanks for this video, it fixed my problem immediately and saved me an expensive call to a plumber.

I have a brand new toilet I installed lately, and the fill valve inside the tank wouldn't stop filling the tank. Looking at your video I used your advice and removed the top valve and flushed the screen looking thing inside the tube. It had rusty sediment from the supply pipe. I reassembled the valve and I now have a toilet that acts as it should. You sir have made me a very happy guy because your advice worked! Thank you so very very much for posting the video. I am now a subscriber and will watch all of your content. You have videos on things I need to learn. Thanks again and I'm so grateful to you.

Awesome! Worked perfectly and fixed my leak. Thanks for the tip! I don't know how many fill valve assemblies I've replaced over the years not knowing to check this seal first. I learned something new today.

I'm so thankful. Waited a long time for someone to come fix it. I did it myself. So easy! Thank you

Thank you!!! I just cleaned the gunk out of the seal and everything works properly now!!! Thank you

You just saved me another trip to the store and even more frustration! Had to use this trick on a brand new Flushmaster valve that had a bunch of gunk in the gasket apparently. So this video is not only for old valves but apparently new ones as well! You’re the man, thank you.

Thank you Joe! Such an easy fix! Great video, crystal clear instructions.

Thanks for the upload. Just removed cleaned and reinstalled the rubber valve in our overflowing concealed cistern. Did the trick and it’s now working as it should 👍🏻

Thanks for your video. There are multiple videos on the Fluidmaster 242 seals, but yours seems to be the clearest. Replaced mine today. To start off, the black fill valve cap has a left notch that lines up with base notch. After you turn a quarter counter clockwise, the cap notch will be directly in the middle of the two base notches.

After years of replacing these units never knew this was repairable. Thanks Papa!

Thank you for the quick fix! Mine was less than a year old - I didn’t replace seal - I think flushing it did the trick. Back up and running - amazing!

Thanks Joe. Your video was a HUGE help. Had no idea how to get inside the float. When I followed your instructions, I actually found a hard piece of iron deposit on the valve seal, which turns out was causing my problem. Cannot thank you enough, and please keep the helpful videos coming.

Good video. One of the better ones on RU-vid. Thanks I’m going to give it a try

Thank you so much! Our toilet was leaking and I had no idea what to do. The replacement of the seal was easy and cheap (less than $2). So glad I found your video.

Extremely helpful! On mine, the seal looked good but there was some debris. Wiped off the seal, flushed everything out and now we're good to go!

Great information. I didn't have a new one (gasket) so I did the flushing trick..also removed and cleaned the old gasket along with the seating surfaces. So far it's working great. Thanks for posting!

Than you. My tank would not refill. Followed your instruction and replaced the rubber seal with a Fluid master 242 rubber seal. It is working perfect.

Thank You!! First time homeowner and this not only saved me a call to a plumber but also saved a trip to Lowes! Mineral backup was causing it to run and run.

Thank you so much for the clear instruction and no-frills video. I have absolutely zero experience with plumbing and this was exactly what I needed. Well done!

Thank you Papa Joe! Following the municipality's repair of a broken water line, the flush valve on my toilet wouldn't shut off. I removed the top cap per your guidance and lo and behold, a small pebble was in the center hole where the needle operates. Removing this pebble returned the valve to operational condition! You saved me a weekend trip to the hardware store and the aggravation of an afternoon of plumbing repairs!

Thank you so much. cleaned the water deposit and it stopped overflow.👍

Excellent video! Very thorough breakdown of the steps for the fix. Thanks Joe!!

Thank you so much. Usually I end up replacing all the inside parts, this was way easier. It's funny, the old valve seal didn't look worn at all, but replacing it did the trick

Thanks,Joe! I’ve actually changed out a few toilets in my time along with fill valves. I never thought to just take it apart and clean the sediment out. Thanks for teaching me some common sense 😎👍🏼

The man of the house is feeling pretty awesome about himself after you helped him repair the toilet without calling in the professionals. Thanks!

No more water hissing water noise it fixed the problem perfectly. Thank You !!So much for sharing your knowledge greatly appreciated.

Thank you Joe. The diaphragm is such an easy fix and did the job 💯. Very useful tip 👍🏻

Worked like a charm! Didn't even have to replace the seal just cleaned it all out a bit

Thank you! Toilet was running. Turns out there was debris in the fill valve that needed cleaned out. Seriously saved me $500 today!

Thank you for your very detailed video. Toilet is working correctly now.

you just made my day sir! This was exactly my issue. Thank you so much for posting this and for linking the replacement seals.

Great job !!! Appreciate your time and great, simple easy to understand explanation.

Your tip on removing the cap lead me to find mineral deposits which was causing my fill valve to continuously run. Thank you so much for this video Joe!

Thank you so much Joe, for sharing your wonderful mind; you saved me lots of time, money and aggravation. Feld so much better by doing it myself. It's not only saving those that I have mentioned above, but the envireronment as well.

This is very informative. Many thanks to you. I used to replace the entire system. Thanks again.

Thanks, just learning about the valve internals in this video solved my issue, I removed the rubber seal and cleaned it with soap and a toothbrush. also cleaned out the top end of the valve assembly with soap and a toothbrush. All is good right now and my seal was is great shape after cleaning, it should last for years now. Easy - fast - free fix, THANK YOU !

Thanks for the tear-down, which helps me resolve no-refilling. ~~~~

Thanks bud it’s fixed 1 little chunk of stuff in a brand new toilet fill valve it works great now

Thank you so much! We went on vacation last month for a week and the toilet ran the entire time. Our water bill was $100 over it what it normally is. I followed your video, cleaned and reseated the seal and it flushes (and stops) perfectly now! Thank you again!

Just fixed mine with your help! Thank you for a wonderful video! :)

Awesome description I, like many others, have been dealing with random running water and as you know when the water is running and you're in the shower that water gets kinda 🔥 HOT...this was perfect and now I am two for two on repairs that I didn't have to give an arm or leg. As you can see I am overly joyed. Thank You!

Thank you, Papa Joe! I watched several other plumbing videos but yours was the only one I found that helped me identify and fix the problem.

Great easy to follow video - sure helped me out today with my repair!

Thanks. I tried the adjuster first and that didn’t work- then I twisted the top off as you said and removed the seal and found a small pebble there. Put the seal back and twist back on and problem solved. Thank you !!

Literally just did this and saved my weekend hahaha , thank you sir for your wisdom 🙏🏼

Thank you Joe. We fixed our toilet by watching your video. Thanks for sharing this to us!!

Fixed in less than 5 minutes! Thank youuuuuu!

saved me some headache. I have had it with my creaky old house and its plumbing problems! had six plumbers come out last year for one problem. but now this minor problem comes up with my john! Just that I am fortunate enough to find someone with a toilet mechanize just like mine! I did replace the toilet about 6 years go, so it isn't a "special" configuration like lots of stuff in this Annityville horror look-a-like house I inhabit LOL. I am just glad I can fix it thanks to this vid! Aces! I am liking and subbing! :D

Thank you so much. Your solution seems to be working. All I did clean the seal and flush out the valve.

Thank you very much for your excellent video Mr. Joe. We followed your instructions, buying a few of the seals so we have them handy when our other toilet seal completely deteriorates. The seal in the master bath toilet was full of deposits and cracked. Once we replaced it, following your instructions, everything worked properly once again, no more running toilet. Thank you again.

Brilliant! I couldn’t figure out how to get into the valve. Mine had a piece of plastic in it (probably from our recent water line repair). Repair was done before your video was finished! Thanks to your instructions I’ve remained a top notch handyman in my wife’s eyes.

I bought and installed 2 Fluidmaster 400A Universal Toilet Fill Valves and installed them. Within a few months, both stopped shutting off. I followed the steps outlined in your video and discovered plastic manufacturing debris under the fill valve cap. After removing the 4 or 5 bits of plastic, the valve shut off as it should. Thank you!

Good video with great explanation. Thanks, Lu...80 year old with 12 rental properties with constance maomtenance requirements.

Thank for this video. Just installed two brand new toilets and one started doing this. Followed the steps and it fixed the issue. ❤

This was great info, never knew. Totally fixed my issue. Thank you!!

You saved me a trip to the hardware store, flushed it out like you said and it worked like a charm.

Thank you so very much Joe. I had replaced the fluid master twice on my toilet. And this quick hack just saved me another $20. It was easy as 123. Thank you

Lifesaver, thanks! Found several little pebbles in there that were preventing it from closing.

Excellent guide! We had a new water main installed in our neighborhood and a bit of sediment got stuck in the valve. Your advice helped a bunch!!

I ended up have debris from reno end up under the cap, and I would have never known how to open and find that! It flushed a few times fine, then kept running water. I took the top off like you said, ran the water with the cup, and sure enough there were 2 rocks or whatever stuck in there. Removed, and wa-la, toilet functions again! Thank you so much

Thank you!!! I didn't have a replacement seal, but I didn't know that seal popped out. I was able to pop it, clean it, and put it back. I saw the sediments and mineral deposits you were talking about wash out of the crevices of the seal. It's working so far, at least until I get the replacement seals. This was a lifesaver!

Thank you...great idea...switching out the top portion as another option! Saving $ and time works too and no drive to home center.

Thank you. This was perfect!

Great! A 2-minute fix. We’ll go to the hardware store soon to replace the rubber thing, but for the moment, removing, scrubbing grit out with an old toothbrush and replacing it, made a useful stopgap. Thanks!

Great video. EZ fix within minutes!! Thanks

I did it!!!!! Your video was so helpful and I got it all fixed. I appreciate the step by step approach! Thank you!

I experienced the problem of the toilet fill valve not shutting off. I followed your video and discovered there was a small pebble blocking the valve seal! I followed your method, cleaned the seal, flushed the valve, and now the fill value shuts off like before! As a new homeowner on a tight budget, I really appreciated being able to do this without calling a plumber. Great video. Thanks!

I want to thank you for this video. I have been having to turn my water on and off at the floor because I didn’t know what was causing the over filling issue and my septic tank was taking a hit. (The tank was just emptied so this is quiet the water waste). Anyway, I took that top part off and found two pieces of broken black plastic jamming it up. Looks like they broke off of something but I can’t tell what. The toilet now flushes and stops properly. I would have called my dad but he passed a few years ago, so thank you very much. 💜

Thanks. That really worked. You saved me a trip to HD

Perfect simple explanation! Thanks!

This is really awesome. I went to Home Depot and to double check I asked the associate should I do this option after sharing what was happening and he said, I would purchase the Valve and replace the whole thing :) I went ahead with your solution and replaced just the seal and it worked like a charm!!!! Excellent video!! This helps better than Pros

Thank you so much, Joe! I didn't think we could fix it but your video was fantastic and we did it!!! I so appreciate you taking the time to make this video. It saved us so much money and time!

It's 11:00 now 11:30. No hardware stores are open. Saved the night. Perfect video. Thanks for this!

Thanks so much for posting this! We live in a new construction home, so I was at a bit of a loss when I took the lid off the tank and saw that everything looked different from the old school toilet tanks. I used Fluidmaster in my search, and your video came up. Fortunately for me, I was able to just take out the seal, wipe off some build up, and insert it back in to get my water to stop trickling.

Easy to install, ru-vid.comUgkxjA-hDN2m8_mi0Dg0JD8U6QiArozIAc4I and comfortable. No idea what other people were talking about when they said it was difficult to install or uncomfortable.

If they sell it, they shouldn't get mad. Also if you have bad water or work has been done on the main water lines even if it was someone else's, plan on having to flush sediment out on alot of things even your faucets.

This is really great info; I have replaced mine today with minimal expenditure. Thank you so much.

Great Video solved our problem! Thank you for making it so easy!

Thank you for your video. I took the plastic seal out, washed it, put it back and it works!

Thanks Joe. It is very helpful. Your time and effort is appreciated.

Thank you Papa Joe- This was the issue! You just saved me a boat load of $$$, THANK YOU!!!

This was the exact issue with my toilet! $3 valve seal from HD fixed it! Thank you!! 🙌

Excellent video sir! I had no idea you could take the Fluidmaster flush valve apart to clean out and/or replace the seal until I watched this. Thanks again and look forward to more helpful hacks from you

Thank you Joe, two thumbs up. You just saved me about $25.00 and a trip to Lowes as I was going to replace two fill valves in my house. This worked perfect and no more seeping toilets. Maybe my water bill will go down now.

Thanks! My toilet has been running for a few weeks and I had to manually lift the fill valve to shut it off. Your video worked!