Signs your toilet needs repair
- It runs or hisses long after a flush.
- The tank refills on its own every so often.
- A wet floor ringing the base.
- A weak flush that needs a second try.
- The bowl rocks when you sit down.
What usually fails
Flappers harden and stop sealing. Fill valves wear and let water trickle into the overflow. Bolts between tank and bowl corrode. The wax ring under the toilet can fail when the floor flexes or the toilet is knocked loose. In older Mississauga homes, the cast iron flange under the toilet may be cracked or corroded.
How we repair it
- We watch a flush cycle and listen for the fault.
- Worn internal parts are replaced with good-quality matching parts.
- If the base leaks, we lift the toilet, check the flange and reset it on a new seal.
- Supply line and shut-off valve are checked, since old valves often weep.
- Before we pack up, we flush a few times and look for seepage.
What moves the bill
Internal part changes are small jobs. Resetting a toilet, replacing a flange or dealing with a damaged subfloor adds time. Very old or discontinued models may be cheaper to replace than to repair, which our toilet installation page covers.
Worth asking
Ask whether the shut-off valve should be changed while we are there. Ask whether any water damage under the floor needs attention.
What callers want to know
What makes the toilet refill at 3 a.m.?
A slow leak from tank to bowl drops the tank until the valve refills it. Fitting a new flapper normally ends it.
Can a leaking base damage the ceiling below?
Yes, and over time it can soften the subfloor. Deal with it promptly.