Results for "older home plumbing"

Found a slow drip coming from behind the toilet about a month ago — nothing alarming, just a little moisture on the floor that I chalked up to condensation. But it's gotten steadily worse, and now when I try to turn the angle-stop valve fully clockwise to cut the water supply, the flow barely slows down. It's not shutting off the way it should, and I can't tell if the valve is corroded, worn out, or something else entirely.

This is an older home with what looks like original plumbing, and I suspect the hard water here has been doing a number on everything over the years. I've tried cranking the handle as far right as it'll go, but the toilet tank keeps filling like the valve isn't even there. I'd like to figure out whether I can clean or repair the existing valve, or if I need to replace it altogether — and if so, what kind of replacement I should be looking at.…more

Nobody can seem to give me a straight answer on this. My neighbor says it's a leak from the tank bolts, the guy at the hardware store told me I need some kind of anti-sweat valve, and every YouTube video I watched went in a completely different direction. All I know is that every summer morning I walk into the bathroom and the outside of my toilet tank is dripping wet — there's even a puddle forming on the floor around the base. At first I thought the toilet was leaking, but I wiped the tank dry and the water came back without even flushing it.

I've got an older home and the bathroom doesn't have great airflow. I'm not sure if that matters. Is this actually condensation, or could it be a slow leak I'm missing? And more importantly, what do I actually do about it — is this a serious problem or just annoying?…more

Found that my toilet tank starts making a constant trickling sound whenever the temperature outside climbs above about 85°F — during cooler months it works perfectly fine. I popped the lid off the tank and it looks like the fill valve is the culprit, maybe warped or worn from the heat cycling, because water just keeps creeping past it. The toilet is about eight or nine years old, two-piece, standard builder-grade setup.

I've never swapped out a fill valve before and I want to make sure I do it right the first time without cracking anything or ending up with a leak under the tank. What's the correct process for pulling the old valve and getting a new one seated and adjusted properly?…more

Three days of heavy rain last week had me stuck indoors with nothing to do but finally research something I've been putting off — adding a bidet to the main bathroom. My house is older and the bathroom fixtures are original, so I'm a little nervous about making changes without breaking something. I've watched a few videos and it looks manageable, but I want to make sure I understand the full process before I start disconnecting things.

I have an older-style toilet with a standard shut-off valve on the wall behind it. Is there anything I should know before buying a bidet attachment or seat? I don't know whether to go with a simple spray attachment or an electric washlet-style seat, and I'm not sure if my setup will handle either type. Any guidance on the steps involved and what to expect would be really appreciated.…more

During a conversation with a plumber who came out for a running toilet, he mentioned I'd need to shut off the main water supply to the house before doing anything. That seemed extreme to me — I've seen what looks like a small valve right behind the toilet near the floor, and I always assumed that was specifically for shutting off just the toilet without cutting water to the whole house. Am I wrong about that?

I'm trying to handle some of the simpler repairs myself now that I own this place, and I'd really like to understand how that little valve works and whether it's actually safe to rely on. The plumber made it sound like those valves are unreliable, but is that a reason to bypass it entirely, or is there a way to test it first?…more

Looked everywhere online but can't figure out why my main bathroom has started smelling like rotten eggs or sewer gas — it's been happening on and off for about a week now. The toilet is a Kohler two-piece and seems to flush fine, no leaks that I can see around the base. The smell is worst in the morning when we first use the bathroom, but it sometimes lingers all day.

I checked under the sink and everything looks dry, but I honestly don't know if the odor is coming from the toilet, the drain, or somewhere else entirely. My husband thinks it might be the wax ring but I'm not sure. Is there a way to track down where sewer gas is coming from without calling a plumber for every possible cause?…more

Looked under the sink and found an old bottle of Drano sitting there, and I'm wondering if I can just pour it into the toilet bowl to clear the slow drain. My toilet is probably 20+ years old and starting to drain sluggishly after flushing — not completely blocked, but definitely not moving like it should. Would using a chemical drain cleaner like Drano do the trick, or is that going to cause problems with an older toilet?…more

Found myself staring at a toilet that won't stop cycling on and off after all that heavy rain we had last week — the tank fills up, I hear it click off, and then a few minutes later it kicks back on again like it's topping itself up. My house is older, probably original plumbing from the late 70s, so I wasn't sure if the wet weather had something to do with it or if something finally gave out inside the tank. It's been doing this around the clock, and I can hear it from the hallway at night.

I haven't touched the toilet at all, and nothing looks obviously broken when I lift the lid. The water level seems normal, but the fill valve just keeps cycling. Is this something I can sort out myself, or am I looking at a bigger problem?…more

During my first week settling into this rental, I noticed water collecting around the bottom of the toilet. I've never dealt with this before and honestly wasn't sure if it was just condensation or something more serious. The floor around the base is consistently damp, and it seems to get worse after flushing. Is this a wax ring issue, or could it be something simpler? I don't want to panic my landlord over nothing, but I also don't want to ignore something that could cause real damage.…more