Why Is My Toilet Continuously Running?

White bathroom with toilet lid open

When you flush your toilet, it runs for a few seconds after the water has gone down. Then the noise of running water should stop. However, if there is an internal water leak, it can cause your toilet to run constantly, which is both annoying and a waste of water. If your water bill has started to rise or you are fed up with the noise of your toilet running all the time, it may be time to investigate. There are a number of different reasons why your toilet may be continuously running, which can be narrowed down to a few common causes.

The Most Common Causes of Running Toilets

You may be able to see the reason your toilet is running by taking off the lid of the toilet tank and looking inside. In some cases, the water may be running as a result of the fill valve not turning off, which causes water to leak past the flapper or over the overflow tube.

This may be solved by replacing or fixing the fill valve or flapper, but there are cases where minor part replacements do not solve the problem. If you have already replaced the part in question and had it installed properly, professional intervention may be the next stop.

Your toilet may run constantly as a result of the following factors:

  • Faulty overflow valve
  • Broken flush valve
  • Cracked flapper seal
  • Leaky fill valve
  • Broken flapper chain
  • Disconnected toilet handle

You may be able to see the reason your toilet is running by taking off the lid of the toilet tank and looking inside. In some cases, the water may be running as a result of the fill valve not turning off, which causes water to leak past the flapper or over the overflow tube.

This may be solved by replacing or fixing the fill valve or flapper, but there are cases where minor part replacements do not solve the problem. If you have already replaced the part in question and had it installed properly, professional intervention may be the next stop.

The parts inside your toilet tank are sensitive and can easily be broken if you fidget with them too much. If your toilet just keeps running and nothing you have tried will fix it, it's time to involve a plumber. You may not realize just how much water your toilet is wasting on a daily basis if it is continuously running. The cost of hiring a Denver plumber to fix your toilet is worth the amount to both solve the problem and eliminate the annoyance.

Call Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Denver & Northern Colorado now to make an appointment.