Independent repair of the toilet - easy and cheap

No lavatory can do without a toilet, except for toilets located on the street. In the course of operation, a number of malfunctions are quite often manifested, both minor and minor. Fortunately, the device of the main sanitary appliance in the toilet is quite simple and repairing a toilet bowl with your own hands is possible in 9 cases out of 10.

Types of faults

Conventionally, all types of defects can be divided according to the place of origin, and the following classification can be proposed:

• problems with the flush tank - repair can be done independently;
• the tank can leak - it is enough to go through the entrance of the supply pipe;
• breakage of the bowl itself (small chipping, cracks, etc.) - you can get rid of such a defect only by replacing the toilet bowl.

As for the specific list of defects, the most common problems of this kind:

• problems with fittings installed in the drain tank - in this case, you will need to repair the toilet float or even completely replace the entire tank fittings. It largely depends on which model of toilet is used.

Note!

Often, foreign manufacturers install valves in the tank, the individual elements of which are difficult to replace, and at the price such repairs are only slightly inferior to the cost of all valves. In this case, it is more convenient to simply buy the entire set of “insides” of the tank and install it yourself.

• in the case of suspended toilet bowls, the execution of work is somewhat complicated, because the tank is hidden behind a decorative wall. In this case, you may need to repair the installation;

• breakage of the cover is possible only with careless handling of it. For example, if you try to close the lid equipped with a microlift abruptly, the finishing mechanism may break and you will need to replace it, the cost of repair is equal to the cost of a new lid;
• Well, the most unpleasant can be called a toilet bowl break - the plumbing device is still made of fragile material, so a sharp blow (even not very strong) can break it or break off a piece. The only possible option - the replacement of the toilet.

Repair manual

Most often, the repair of a toilet bowl is associated with the work of the drain tank, the reason for this may be the quality of the water entering it, as well as mechanical damage to individual parts of the valve. Below is a brief guide to action that will allow to repair the toilet in most cases.

Repair of drain tank

There is an armature in the cistern responsible for the supply and discharge of water when the button is pressed (in older models, to pull the water, pull the lever). Problems can arise with the flow of water into the tank, and with its descent.

Upon receipt of water, these types of faults are possible:

• water is not drawn - need to repair float valve toilet. Sometimes it may just be slightly distorted, in which case it is enough just to fix it with your hand. In other cases, you need to check the lever by which this toilet cistern valve is connected with the regulating unit, most likely, the connection is broken, therefore, when the float is raised, the valve does not block the flow of water;

• at the entrance to the tank a strainer can be installed, it may be clogged and it should be cleaned. In this case, you just need to disassemble this unit and gently rinse the filter under the faucet. If the dirt is firmly blocking the mesh holes, you can gently walk on it with a toothbrush;
• if the water level is far from the required, then the whole instruction for correcting the defect is to adjust the valve position. If a metal lever is used, it can be slightly bent so that the float occupies the desired position.

Note! When repairing, you can slightly modify the tank filling system. To do this, simply install an additional vertical tube to the water supply channel so that the end of the tube is located at the bottom of the tank - annoying noise when it is filled will disappear.

Problems with the drain is also easy to solve:

• there is often a situation where water is constantly trickling down the toilet bowl, the constant murmur is annoying, and the water in our country is not free. Most likely, the reason for this is the failure of the rubber gasket, which is placed directly above the drain hole. Repairing a toilet bowl with your own hands is to replace it;

Note! If such a problem appeared in the new plumbing fixture, then you need to check the tightness of the gasket against the tank. Under it could fall debris and water leaks into the gap formed.

• if nothing happens when pressing the flush button, it means that the drain valve itself is faulty, the connection between the button and the valve closing the drain hole is broken. Repair consists in its restoration or replacement of drain fittings.

In order for the breakdown not to be taken by surprise, it will be good to keep a simple repair kit for the toilet cistern at home. It consists of a number of valves and gaskets of various sizes, which will allow to quickly repair almost any malfunction.

Features of repair of toilet bowls

Suspended toilets look much cheaper than their outdoor counterparts. It seems that they take up much less space, and apparently they do not look so massive. However, the installation and repair of such sanitary equipment is somewhat different from the traditional design.

The main difference lies in the fact that the load from the toilet bowl is not transmitted directly to the floor, but to the frame - an installation for the toilet bowl. Otherwise, the repair of a suspended toilet is not very different from conventional models.

The installation is a frame, for example, of shaped pipes. This frame is attached to the supporting wall or to the partition and the floor, the toilet is mounted in such a way that all the load from it is transferred to the frame. At the last stage, the carcass is trimmed, for example, with gypsum plasterboard and finishing.

The term repairing installations for the toilet with their own hands means the elimination of not only the work of the cistern but also the frame itself. The fact is that with an excessive load or a weak frame, its elements can simply be deformed, in which case they will have to be replaced.

The principle of operation and the main elements of the tank do not differ from the toilet to normal design, respectively, the repair methods described above are applicable here. True, the possible need for repairs should be foreseen at the installation stage and a revision window should be set up, which will provide access to the cistern.

The difficulties of repairing toilet bowls of foreign manufacturers

If the repair of the Soviet toilet, and most of the domestic models can be done in a matter of minutes, then with imported models it is not always possible. As an example of practically unsuitable for self-repair, you can consider the toilets of the Finnish company IDO.

From a technical point of view, such toilet bowls are at a height — you can adjust the amount of flushing, the button is pressed smoothly, and the water supply is absolutely silent.

But if necessary, troubleshooting reveals a number of difficulties:

• very often there is a problem with the bottom valve. When using aggressive chemicals for water treatment, its service life is reduced below the minimum specified by the manufacturer in 3 years. In this case, its replacement is required, and here the first trouble arises - the repair of Finnish toilets is possible with the use of spare parts only from the same manufacturer;
• sometimes people forgetting to dramatically press the drain button; this is fraught with a breakage of the drain device. In this case, the only solution is to call a plumber; independent repair of such a breakdown is impossible.

Foreign manufacturers have gone far ahead of the traditional design of the toilet bowl, in which to drain it is necessary to press and hold the lever, and the child could also figure it out. But the complexity of the design is not always beneficial, in this case it is not possible to use any repair kit for the toilet bowl, you need to look for spare parts from the same manufacturer, and this is not always convenient.

Summarizing

Independent repair of a toilet bowl is quite a feasible task for any person. Despite the variety of manufacturers of these sanitary appliances, in most cases the causes of the malfunction are the same, which means that it is possible to formulate a number of universal repair rules. The proposed material can be considered as a direct guide to action, thanks to him any damage will be fixed in a short time.

The video in this article shows an example of repairing one of the most common problems — a constant leak through a drain hole.