Toilet Leak? Testing 1, 2, 3

One of the stealthiest killers in the plumbing game is the silent toilet leak. Wreaking havoc on your wood floors and water bill, these leaks can be hard to discern until it is too late.

Luckily, 24 Hour On Call Plumbers has some tips and tricks to test whether your toilet is leaking and what kind of leak you are dealing with.

The Classic Pencil Test

Grab that Ticonderoga #2 and head to the toilet. Open up the tank and make a mark with your pencil at the water level. Then turn off the water by finding the shutoff valve toward the bottom of your toilet and turning counterclockwise. Wait 30 minutes.

Take a peak. If the water has not moved, you are dealing with a faulty refill valve. If the water has dipped below your pencil mark, the culprit is the flush valve.

The Magic Dye Test

For this next trick, ask your local hardware store for toilet leak detection tablets (creative name!). Go home and drop one in the top of your toilet tank and watch it dissolve (or not, this step is entirely optional). Wait about 15 minutes and then check whether your tablet has dye the water in your actual toilet bowl. If it has, you need a plumber ASAP and EPS has got you covered!

The Less Cool But Much Simpler Water Leak Sensor

Ok, so only the first two are tricks. But we couldn’t not mention one of our favorite DIY plumbing tools, the water leak sensor. Take the guesswork out of it by going down to your local Hawaiian hardware store and purchasing one of these lifesavers. You attach the device to your toilet, and it will flash red or green, letting you know whether your toilet is functioning properly.

If you get that red flash, call our expert plumbers if you live on the Big Island, call (855) 420-8572.