Help fix our toilet? Please?

Kristoph · 13 Dec 2008 at 09:17

Hey.

Have a two push button system toilet. Noticed yesterday water was running into the bowl from the cistern and the cistern was making a refilling noise every 15 seconds or so.

I flushed the loo and left it, and it hasn't done it since.

Today my housemate used the bathroom and it's doing it again, I tried to lift the lid off it to see what was going on, but it's screwed down underneath the buttons, and there's no tools here.

Any suggestions, as it's leaking water quite quickly and I'm about to head home for a month.

Zuma · 13 Dec 2008 at 09:21

with a bit of luck there will be a ballofix valve you can turn off in the vicinity of the toilet.
can you see a 15mm copper pipe going into the cistern (probably from underneath). trace that pipe back a bit and you might find a valve in the pipe somewhere. you will need a flathead screwdriver to turn it off. just turn the screw head 90 degrees so that it is perpendicular to the pipe. that will shut off water to the toilet. you will need a flat head screwdriver but you may be able to turn it with a coin or a knife

Kristoph · 13 Dec 2008 at 09:25

Zuma said:
with a bit of luck there will be a ballofix valve you can turn off in the vicinity of the toilet.
can you see a 15mm copper pipe going into the cistern (probably from underneath). trace that pipe back a bit and you might find a valve in the pipe somewhere. you will need a flathead screwdriver to turn it off. just turn the screw head 90 degrees so that it is perpendicular to the pipe. that will shut off water to the toilet. you will need a flat head screwdriver but you may be able to turn it with a coin or a knife

Thanks mate, yeah it has got a screw on the pipe. Will use that before I leave if it doesn't stop.

There's only one person in the house over xmas, but there's another bathroom that they can use.

Kristoph · 13 Dec 2008 at 09:40

Ok, I managed to open it up, was quite firmly tightened to the cisteren. It seemed to like having the lid opened and it stopped straight away. I've done it back up gently, but it's still attached properly. Doesn't seem to be leaking at the moment.

jegz · 13 Dec 2008 at 09:43

If its anything like out 2 button flush the button sticks down even though it looks like it hasn't and it keeps running into the bowl.

All you have to do is press the button a bit and you will feel it pop back up.

Pookie Bear · 13 Dec 2008 at 10:00

I had this a few years back in my old place which had a button flush. You open the top by turning the surround for the button itself (which I see you have worked out for yourself!) but I couldn't find the problem. Even got a plumber in - he couldn't find the problem but after he tinkered with the innards it started working normally. A month later it started again, so I opened it up once more, thinking there must be a gap somewhere..... turned out that a piece of sealant had slipped under the mechanism when flushing and was stopping it closing all the way - leaving the tinest of gaps - hence the trickle and refilling noise every fifteen minutes or so.

Kristoph · 13 Dec 2008 at 10:20

Luw said:
I had this a few years back in my old place which had a button flush. You open the top by turning the surround for the button itself (which I see you have worked out for yourself!) but I couldn't find the problem. Even got a plumber in - he couldn't find the problem but after he tinkered with the innards it started working normally. A month later it started again, so I opened it up once more, thinking there must be a gap somewhere..... turned out that a piece of sealant had slipped under the mechanism when flushing and was stopping it closing all the way - leaving the tinest of gaps - hence the trickle and refilling noise every fifteen minutes or so.

Ahh, could be something like this.

It seems happy at the moment, but I have a housemate coming back to the house soon to spend the whole of xmas here. She isn't the type to do anything about it so I'm hoping it holds out till after xmas and it doesn't run up a water bill.

Thanks for everyones suggestions.

Pinter75 · 13 Dec 2008 at 11:59

It will be the rubber flap/gasket at the base of the flush mechanism. I have had to replace these before as after a few years they can misshape.

It can also happen with very cold water. If the cistern is filling with colder than normal water the rubber gasket can become mis-shapen too.

Other than that it is crud on the bottom of it.

To remove you twist the whole of the center assembly and it simply pops out. The toilet will constanly flush so unless you can isolate the supply or turn the whole system off, a lot of water will waste.

Look at the normally black rubber gasket at the bottom. It may be furred up with limescale or just dirt. If it is that that will probably be the problem. If it looks clean then you may need a new gasket.

I am not 100% sure if you can get them seperatly. If it is a common make you can simply buy a whole new assembly and pop it in. This negates the need to fit the mounting lug as the new fits in the old.

They ain't expensive.

Finally, if you can get the whole lot out, give the gasket a good clean in warm water. Ths should set it back to it's original shape.

meghatronic · 13 Dec 2008 at 12:25

Pinter75 said:
It will be the rubber flap/gasket at the base of the flush mechanism. I have had to replace these before as after a few years they can misshape.

It can also happen with very cold water. If the cistern is filling with colder than normal water the rubber gasket can become mis-shapen too.

Other than that it is crud on the bottom of it.

To remove you twist the whole of the center assembly and it simply pops out. The toilet will constanly flush so unless you can isolate the supply or turn the whole system off, a lot of water will waste.

Look at the normally black rubber gasket at the bottom. It may be furred up with limescale or just dirt. If it is that that will probably be the problem. If it looks clean then you may need a new gasket.

I am not 100% sure if you can get them seperatly. If it is a common make you can simply buy a whole new assembly and pop it in. This negates the need to fit the mounting lug as the new fits in the old.

They ain't expensive.

Finally, if you can get the whole lot out, give the gasket a good clean in warm water. Ths should set it back to it's original shape.

^ this.

Where were you in my thread?!?!?!?!??!

I got a plumber out (as I don't have to pay). Part is about £20-30.