How to Fix a Toilet that Takes Forever to Fill

We have customers call our Sarasota plumbers quite often, with the question of when I flush my toilet, why does it take forever to fill?  This is a common bathroom plumbing problem, because the majority of toilet tanks use the same type of a water measuring device commonly referred to as a ballcock or a fill valve.

Toilet Fill ValveS

Typically in years past, a ballcock in a toilet tank had a float arm with a float ball attached to it. The most common style of water measuring devices in toilets today would be a fill valve. This style of measuring device stands up vertically in the left hand corner of a toilet tank. Over time, the chlorine or just age, will cause the rubber seal inside to swell up and this will cause the fill valve to fill up slowly. Sometimes, debris will clog up the orifice inside the fill valve, and also cause it to fill slowly.

Toilet Fill Valve Replacement

The most inexpensive way to correct the problem, would be to buy a replacement seal, available at most hardware stores or from your Sarasota plumber. After buying the seal, you would need to turn off the water to your toilet and disassemble your fill valve. It comes apart quite easily by twisting the upper half from the bottom half. Make sure the water got completely turned off though, because if it didn’t, the water is likely to shoot all the way to the ceiling. This would cause your spouse to lose confidence in you. So, you have twisted the fill valve apart and you see the rubber seal you need to replace. Pry it out carefully as to not bend the pin in the center. Install the new seal and twist the unit back together. Turn on the water and test it.

What to do When Your Toilet is Filling Slowly

The preferred method of repairing a toilet tank that fills slowly is to just replace the entire fill valve with a brand new one. This ensures that it will work, in case debris was stuck in the old fill valve that you couldn’t. Plus, if your plumber in Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton or Sarasota is doing the work for you, it would come with a warranty.  Make sure to replace the supply line from the shut-off valve to the fill valve with a stainless steel braided supply tube to ensure positive leak-proof connections.

If you’re dead-set on trying to fix it yourself, we recommend following these steps:

1. Go buy a Fluidmaster fill valve and new supply line for your water closet. Check the condition of your flapper, this is a good time to replace it also.
2. Turn off the shut-off valve under the toilet.
3. Put a towel down under the shut-off valve area.
4. Flush the toilet to remove the water in the tank.
5. Remove the closet supply tube.
6. Remove the fill valve. (Wimpy’s Plumbing uses a little bucket to catch the remaining water in the tank).
7. Assemble the new fill valve and install it in the tank.
8. Connect the new closet supply line.
9. Turn the water on and check for leaks.
10. Adjust the water level in the tank to the proper level. (1″ below the overflow tube).
11. Clean up your work area and make it neater than you found it, that’s what Wimpy’s would do.
12. Tell your spouse you fixed the toilet and be the hero and save money at the same time.

Not interested in doing it yourself? Have your slow-filling toilet taken care of by a licensed Sarasota plumber from Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air!

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Leak in the Closet, the Floor is Wet Behind the Bathroom Wall

You may have started your morning by your wife telling you the floor in the closet is wet, behind the bathroom wall.  This is not what you wanted to hear anytime, much less first thing in the morning.  What do you do? Don’t search for a “plumber near me.” Instead, call your Sarasota bathroom plumber and schedule an appointment with Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air, so when your wife asks you what you are going to do, you can tell her you have a backup plan.

Leak Detection Sarasota

Now you can take some time and search for some clues that will help you find the cause of the puddle of water in the closet.  If you find that the water was from a roof leak from the rain storms you have been having, you know you need a roofer and not a Sarasota plumber and you could cancel your appointment with Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air.  Maybe, question everyone in the household to see if some water was accidentally spilled.  Also, if you have any animals, check to make sure it wasn’t a pet accident. If you can rule all of these out, its’ possible you will need a Licensed Sarasota Plumber to help you determine the cause of the Sarasota bathroom plumbing leak in your closet.

How to Find a Leak

If the water puddle in the closet is right behind your shower, the first thing to do is to clean up the water so you can tell if more occurs when you do the following tests.  Once the floor is dry enough to tell if more water comes out, run water in the shower from the shower head and watch to see if more water comes out on the closet floor.  If it does, the problem could be a broken shower arm in the wall, where it threads into an elbow fitting.  This would be simple fix with an easy-out tool that your bathroom plumber in Sarasota would have on his truck.  Or you could buy an easy-out tool from the hardware store. Cut the end off the tool so it is shallow enough to fit into the elbow, unscrew the broken thread, and screw in a new shower arm. Now, test the shower again. Hopefully that fixed your problem.

The best way is to have the leak located with an electronic, leak detection tool.  You will need to call a professional plumber in Sarasota to have this done.  By having the leak located electronically, you won’t have to tear open walls or floors where you don’t need to.  This tool will pinpoint the exact location of your leak, so wall or floor repair is minimal.  Then you can fix your leak, dry up the water and have a great day! At Wimpy’s our Sarasota plumbers provide leak detection and repair, so we can make sure your bathroom plumbing is in top shape.

A Leaking Shower

If a leak in the closet is still occurring, you will need to check the shower pan.  Showers have a safety liner, similar to a water bed. It is called a pan. Over the years the material used to make the pan has changed.. If your home is newer, the pan may of been damaged while it was under construction and the tile kept it from leaking up to now.  If your home is older, the pan may of deteriorated, due to age.

To check the pan for leaks, cover the drain and fill it up with 2-3″ of water.  If water starts coming out in the closet,  the pan is leaking. At this point, you will want to get your plumber in Sarasota to get an estimate.

What to Do if You Have a Leak in Sarasota

We often get calls where customers are asking: “My Sarasota bathroom plumbing leaks, can you fix it?”. As you can see, “My bathroom leaks” can mean a lot of things.  If you call us, our secretary, may ask you some more questions.  Our licensed plumbers like to have as much information as possible when they show up at your home, to fix your bathroom leak.

Our team may ask which fixture is leaking.  A fixture in your bathroom is the water closet, bathtub or lavatory.  The fixture itself could be leaking, possibly from a clogged drain or the valve that you turn on to make the water come out, could be leaking.

If the water is leaking and won’t stop, you should tell our team that.  We will make sure you get priority service.  We know that your home is your most treasured possession.  We will get their as soon as possible to protect your investment. We can fix your bathroom leak or give you an estimate on how much the repair will cost to fix your bathroom leak.  We will always give you an honest evaluation of what needs to be done. 

If you need help or want to discuss your bathroom plumbing problem, call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air or schedule an appointment online!

Can My Plumber in Sarasota Fix My Faucet that is Hard to Pull On and Off?

If any of your faucets such as your bathroom sink faucet, tub valve, shower valve or kitchen faucet is hard to pull on and off, your Sarasota plumber can tell you what is wrong and explain to you how to fix it.  The most common faucet that is hard to pull on and off is the Moen faucet.  Moen brand is an excellent choice of faucets due to Moens’ warranty.  Some of the reasons these faucets become hard to use is non-use of faucet, think of it as exercising your body (use it or lose it), improper installation of not removing the cartridge before soldering it, water quality. Hard water will cause build-up in the integral part of the cartridge and make it stiff or hard to pull on and off.  Also age. Over time mechanical parts need maintenance.

If your faucet is a moen valve, it will have the name on it, or on older moen valves,  your plumber in Sarasota will be able to easily identify it for you.

Should your lavatory faucet, tub or shower valve or kitchen faucet be hard to pull on or off, or it drips, the faucet will need to have the cartridge replaced.  The first step is to turn off the water.  On bathroom sinks and kitchen faucets, the shut-off valves are underneath the fixture.  On tubs, there may be an access panel on the back of the wall with the valves inside the access.  On showers, unless the valve has integral screwdriver stops or if any off the shut-off valves don’t work, you will have to shut off the water where it comes into the house.  After making sure the water is off, by opening a faucet and no water comes out, you are ready to remove the cartridge.  A tool you will need is called a Moen cartridge puller tool.  This tool is available at hardware stores and big box stores.  You will also need a new Moen cartridge. Lavatory and kitchen valves have the same cartridge if is 2012 and older.  Tub and shower valves use two different cartridges.  One is a positemp cartridge, the other is the standard Moen cartridge that has been around for more years than I can remember.  You will want the standard moen cartridge. You will have choices of plastic or brass.  This plumber in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton prefers plastic cartridges.  You can also call Moen directly and often times, get a warranty cartridge from them, Your plumber in Sarasota can help you with getting a warranty cartridge.

Once you have the water off, cartridge puller in hand and your new cartridge, you can change the cartridge, turn the water back on and check for leaks.  If you have any problems, call your Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton plumber.

Need us to repair your faucet?  Call Wimpy’s Plumbing & Air  (941-322-1911)  www.wimpys2022content.kinsta.cloud