If you have an older toilet, a faulty fill valve can cause it to leak, wasting water and money. Generally, your best bet is to replace it. It won’t take you much time, and the replacement part isn’t expensive. Show In the next few minutes, I’ll show you how to put a new fill valve on your toilet. If your toilet is having other problems, watch our video “Diagnosing a Leaky Toilet” to figure out which component inside the tank might be leaking. The fill valve lets water into the tank and a float keeps the water in the tank from getting too high. The valve assembly includes the float and a shut-off mechanism to stop the flow of water. Before you visit your local independent home improvement retailer to pick up your new fill valve, here’s something you should know. The best fill valves offer anti-siphon protection. In fact, your local building codes may require this type of valve. Anti-siphon protection prevents toilet tank water from getting siphoned back into your home’s water supply. Regardless of your building codes, installing an anti-siphon valve is a good idea. Start by turning off the water supply to the toilet. Remove the lid to the tank. Inside the toilet, you’ll want to remove the refill tube attached to the overflow pipe on the flush valve. Flush the toilet by holding down the tank lever to get as much water as possible out of the tank. You can use a sponge or a towel to get the rest of the water out. Next, disconnect the water supply line from the tank. You may need to use an adjustable wrench or a pair of channel locking pliers to loosen the connection. Then remove the old fill valve by removing the lock nut beneath the tank. The new fill valve goes on the way the old one came off. While holding it in place, use a tape measure to see if the valve is set at the proper height in relation to the overflow pipe. If you need to adjust the height of the valve, press up on the lock ring to disengage it and turn the shank to adjust the fill valve to the proper height. Once it’s set to the correct height, pull the lock ring back down to lock the shank in place. Don’t forget to attach the refill tube to the top of the overflow pipe. Finally, reattach the water supply connection beneath the tank and turn on the water. Finally flush the toilet to make sure that if it fills back up properly, and check for any leaks beneath the toilet. If the valve is leaking under the tank, tighten the connections. If you have questions about this or any other home improvement project, be sure to read our list of Frequently Asked Questions for this video. And be sure to print out our Project Instructions, which includes a Tools and Materials checklist, before visiting your local independent home improvement retailer. That’s where you’ll find all the products and helpful advice to complete your project. If you’re not sure where to find your local store, check out our Store Locator. Good luck with your project and thanks for watching. Skip to main content
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Fixing a running toilet is a lot easier than you might think. In this article, we'll show you how to identify and solve the problem. Don't be intimidated by the plumbing. The fixes are straightforward, even if you don't have any plumbing experience. So stop wasting water and fix the toilet!
Check the Fill Valve for a Leak
Remove and Replace Old Toilet Fill Valve
Install the New Fill Valve
Connect the Fill Tube
Originally Published: November 25, 2019
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A faulty toilet fill valve can cause your toilet to run all the time or otherwise malfunction. However, the good news is that replacing your toilet fill valve is something any homeowner can do. It does not take a lot of experience with plumbing or a lot of time. However, you do need a few parts, a couple of tools, and a little bit of effort.
This article was co-authored by James Schuelke. James Schuelke, along with his twin brother David, is the co-owner of the Twin Home Experts, a licensed plumbing, leak detection, and mold inspection company based in Los Angeles, California. James has over 32 years of home service and business plumbing experience and has expanded the Twin Home Experts to Phoenix, Arizona and the Pacific Northwest. This article has been viewed 171,983 times.
Co-authors: 8 Updated: July 21, 2022 Views: 171,983 Article Rating: 90% - 68 votes Categories: Featured Articles | Toilet Maintenance
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