It's the middle of the night and you just went to the bathroom. You crawl back in bed, but you can't fall asleep. The water is still running in the toilet. You don't want to let it run all night, but the prospect of trying to find a 24-hour Wal-Mart to get parts to fix it doesn't sound attractive, either.

What can you do? Here are some tips you can try that may solve the problem until you can get ahold of someone to handle your plumbing services. Open the back of your toilet's tank and do the following:

Check the Float

When you flush your tank, water flows back into it through a fill valve. Attached to that valve is a lightweight float. When the water reaches the level that supports the float, it triggers the valve to shut off again. Sometimes that float gets stuck, which causes the valve to remain open. That forces water to keep draining out of the overflow tube and your toilet to keep running.

The float in your tank may either resemble a large plastic "ball" on a metal arm or a small plastic cup that's just behind the fill valve. Either way, you can use a pair of pliers to manually adjust the screw holding it in place to either lower or raise it.

Look for the Flapper Chain

The flapper is a small plastic plug at the bottom of the tank that is attached by a chain to the toilet's handle. When you flush, the flapper rises to let water from the tank flow into the bowl. When it lowers again, it seals off the flow so that the tank can be refilled. 

Sometimes a running toilet is caused by nothing more than the chain getting in the way of the flapper and interfering with the seal. If the chain is caught underneath your flapper, just pull it out of the way and let the flapper close properly again.

Turn Off the Water 

Finally, if all else fails, you can turn the water off to the toilet until morning. There should be a small, oval-shaped knob attached to the pipe just below the tank. Turn that clockwise until the water stops running. You can turn it on again in the morning when you need it.

These are, naturally, quick fixes that are meant to get you through the night, not long-term solutions. Make sure that you contact plumbing services right away for a complete repair.

Share