OK, my toilet flapper won’t stop leaking. I’ve replaced it with two different replacement units from HD.
Unit 1 was a Fluidmaster Super Flapper.
Unit 2 was a Fluidmaster Flusher Fixer kit. It had a lump of silicone (?) putty ring that you push onto the tank to seal the joint between the flapper mount and tank.
Neither seemed to work. The flapper doesn’t seem to form a tight seal around the tank drain hole. How can I fix this?
What is peculiar is that the whole innards of the tank was replaced with a Fluidmaster Complete Repair Kit about several years back and everything was working just fine. The flapper wore out so that is when I decided to replace it.
Could the flapper replacements be incompatible with the previous repair kit even thought they are the same brand?
What else could be the cause of the leak? I don’t think the tank itself is leaking where it is connected to the bowl. I assume there would be water outside of the bowl and tank if that was the case. I can see a trickle of water streaming down the inside of the bowl. The leak is at a variable rate and seems to depend on how the flapper randomly seats itself.
Replies
Have you tried thouroughly cleaning the inside of the tank. I don't know how hard the water is where you are, but calcium, and rust and all the rest can build up and could have built up unevenly at the seal.. Try scrubbing the contact point down with some "CLR" and steel wool...probably cheaper than another repair kit.
All I ever wanted in life was an unfair advantage...
i had a toleit leaking that drove me nuts,after a couple new flappers, i was lost ,i mean if they seal,then it's a done deal.
turns out that the upright overflow tube had a hairline crack in it.so it wasn't leaking at the flapper it was going down the tube.wiggle it a little and see if the leak gets worse.larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
There is another kind of "leak" that can drive you crazy.If the refill tube that goes from the fill valve to the over flow tube is push down too far so that the end of the tube is below the full line it will cause water to syphon out of the tank..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
thats a good one i forgot about,i've been down that road too,fluidmaster gives you that big long tube to stick in the overflow,so you just slide it down there snd the siphoning begins .larryif a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
Siphon effect for leaky toilet
Thank you BillHartmann! Almost eight years after your post and you solved my problem today (4/23/2016). I've been scouring the web for possible causes for my leaky toilet... And 100% have directed me to the flapper or to seals. I've tried every flapper imaginable. Applied Vaseline, used water colors, ... you name it. Then while reading this blog (btw - which is all about the flapper), I noticed your comment about the siphon effect caused when the small hose going into the overflow tube extends beneath the fill line. As a novice, I expect the previous job to have been done correctly by professionals before me. Big mistake. Whoever worked on my toilet last (before I bought the house), had a hose going down about 6 inches into the tube. After reading your post, I looked at all my other household toilets to see the hose cut and clipped at the very top of the tube. OK all you pros, stop laughing.... These things are research followed by trial and error for most of us. I snipped the hose and clipped to the top of the tube and PROBLEM SOLVED !! Now I can open a resale store for gently/barely used flappers.
I had to try several replacements before I got one to work.
Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
I had the same problem until I a) bought the proper replacement part for my make/model toilet, and b) allowed the new flapper to settle into the drain seat. I went through 3-4 generic flappers from the big box stores but they never worked.