Old poor quality plumbing can frequently become a big problem for the house owners. Clogged pipes, leaking joints, rising toilet water may bring a concern for the whole house. Calling a plumber is a pretty expensive and inconvenient option, besides, sometimes the situation can get critical, and actions have to be taken urgently. In this case, DIY tips may save time, nerves, and the house from the broken toilet. This article presents exactly this type of easy life-saving tips for householders.

The Most Common Problems With Toilets and Their Solutions

A lot of issues with toilets may be easily solved independently. Here we provide a list of solutions for the most typical of them.

Clogged toilet

Water is stuck on the same level, and flushing doesn’t give any result. Usually, there are 2 reasons for this problem to appear even in a strong flush toilet: old pipes or foreign objects, like toilet paper.

With time walls of pipes become coated with salt plaque. This process happens faster if the quality of water is low: a lot of non-fluid components like rust are laid on the pipe walls. In the end, there are so many silts that everything gets stuck in the pipe, and clogging appears.

In this case, you may try to:

• Apply household chemicals like “Tiret”, “Peak Out” etc. Usually, they work when paper is stuck in pipes.
• Traditional methods. Boiled water, soda with vinegar, or a bottle of cola/pepsi may solve the problem if the clogging is not that hard.
• Clear a toilet manually using a large stick. If the clogging is not deep, it will help.
• Use a plunger with a large amount of hot water to clear a toilet. It helps in 90% of cases, but if you don’t have one, try other methods.
• DIY plunger. Take a 2-liter plastic bottle and cut off the bottom. Then tightly press a bottle to the walls of the toilet. Push up and down the upper part several times and remove the bottle. In the end, flush the toilet with a large amount of hot water. If it doesn’t work out, repeat several times.

If there are no foreign objects inside pipes, we’d recommend you to replace old plumbing.

Leaking Toilet

Leaking toilet means dozens of problems connected with pipes and plumbing. Here you can see a check-list for the most common ones with the easiest solutions.

• Water goes from the crack in the ceramic. Usually, cracks appear on old or low-quality toilets, but if the device is new, you may try to use your warranty and exchange the broken product. Otherwise, use a water-resistant scotch or apply a sealant from the inside to stop the water until you will be able to buy a new flushing toilet. If the situation is critical, cut off the cold water in your flat or house using a special crane that is usually placed in the bathroom. This method also can be applied for pipes with cracks and in places with leaking joints.
• Water runs from the tank constantly. The most common reason for it is a broken floater. You can easily check this — if the floater in your tank is sinked, it’s broken. In that case, replacement of the floater is required:

1. Remove the tank. Cut off the cold water and activate the flush button. Unscrew the hoses and fix pins that are attached to the tank. Carefully remove the tank from the shelf.
2. Remove the floater. It has to be carefully unscrewed and replaced with a new one. Put a new floater in its seat and fix it with plastic fasteners.
3. Put the tank back on the shelf of the toilet bowl, fix it with mounting pins. Connect all hoses again.
4. Install the lid, open the cold water and make a test flush.

• Worn out rubber gaskets may be a reason. Constant exposure to liquid causes wear and tear on the silicone. The locking mechanism cannot cover these parts of the flush mechanism tightly, so the moisture leaks out. Cut off the cold water and replace all rubber gaskets in the tank with new ones to solve the problem.

Toilet Is Clogged and Water Rises Up

This problem usually appears in multi-storey houses on first and second floors. The reason is quite simple: someone probably dropped a foreign object into the toilet, and it got stuck in the bottom part of the house pipe system, causing water to accumulate and rise up to your toilet.

In that case a help of a local plugger is required: they have to block the whole local pipe system and remove the object manually.

The problem is urgent, so do not waste time and call a specialist. During the waiting:

• Pump out the water from the toilet using a bucket or other instruments.
• Tell your neighbors that live above not to use plumbing until the problem is solved.

Can I Repair My Toilet by Myself?

Almost every problem with a toilet can be solved at home without calling a specialist, so if you are not afraid of doing this kind of work, you can easily seal a crack, tighten joints or replace old parts of the tank with new ones. However, you shouldn’t be careless when it comes to serious failures when, for example, you can’t stop running water, but call a specialist instantly.