Dripping toilet All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[Molly]

Can anyone help, please? The toilet steadily drips water from under the rim into the bowl, just like a constant very low-level flush. To give an idea of how bad it is, any toilet cleaner squirted around the bowl is gone within an hour. We had a plumber in who said we should learn to live with it, as there's nothing he can do! I don't believe him and I'm willing to fix it myself if only someone will tell me how! Any suggestions PLEASE?

[bobplum]

is it a modern type of toilet ie dual flush buttons,if so then the toilet as an internal overflow and that what appears to be happening,if so the float needs to be adjusted to decrease the voulme of water in the cistern if you dont have the instruction s for it if it as a makers name on it then contact them on the internet and download the instructions should take ten minutes to fix
bob

[aztecjon]

Hi Molly. This is really simple to fix. take the lid off the cistern and you will see a ball which floats. The ball is fixed to a long arm, and on the end of the arm there should be a the bit where the water is dripping. Undo this section. Remember how it goes together and dont lose and seals! You should come across whats called a diaphram. Its a black shape round rubber piece. Looks like a rolled up condom! take it out and replace it with a new one. They can be purchased at and B&Q store and are all the same. Voila!
Oh by the way,,,,,very important. Turn of the water before any of this. Make sure its turned off. This can be tested by flushing it. Good luck

[rosebery]

Molly

If it's leaking inside the bowl then it has the mechanism that bobplum describes and the solution is exactly as he says. If it had the mechanism that aztecjohn describes the water would be coming out of the external overflow. As it's not don't go looking for a ballvalve (slide or diaphram type) - 'cos I'm 99.999% sure you ain't got one!

Your "plumber" doesn't sound very competant (live with it indeed!!) - hope he didn't charge you for wasting your time!

Cheers

[thedoctor]

See our project on cisterns, tanks and valves as well as the one on Dual flush (European) toilets. These will give you an idea of how the mechanism works in both types of system and make diagnosis easier.

[rosebery]

@ thedoctor

Not sure I understand why you censored my mildest of rebukes to aztecjohn for misleading the OP by saying "it's easy" and giving clearly duff gen when he manifestly misunderstood the question in the first place.

What's worse - giving wrong data or a small slap. If I get censored surely his post shouldn't have gone through either? Or am I being thick?

Cheers