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There is a dripping sound coming from my toilet. It happens about once a minute constantly. I've eliminated every possibility I could think of:

  1. I put food coloring into the tank and waited 20 minutes. The water in the bowl did not change color. Furthermore it does not exhibit the other sign of a leaking flapper, the tank occasionally refilling.
  2. I observed the refill tube and did not see anything dripping from it.
  3. I turned off the water and the sound continued. After leaving the water off overnight, the sound stopped.
  4. Unlike How to fix dripping sound coming from toilets? this happens pretty much constantly, not just when material is added to the bowl.

Any other ideas? Or problems with my beliefs above?

UPDATE: As per a comment on the accepted answer, I replaced the fill valve, and the sound went away. That was only three years ago. Now, the sound is back. Fill valves should last longer than three years, right? The new fill valve wasn't even the same brand or style as the old one.

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    Are you in a part of the world where it's summer and humid? Is there condensation dripping from the OUTSIDE of the tank/cistern?
    – Ecnerwal
    Jul 12, 2015 at 3:26
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    Check the entire area between end of refill tube and where it enters the reservoir. It can drip from around the refill valve for example.
    – Dan
    Jul 12, 2015 at 6:34
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    I had an issue once where a closing door would disturb the tank level, causing a brief opening of the fill valve until the wave settled down. My intuition tells me this is the fill valve, it stopped when the fill line / valve were depressured overnight. Could be other activity in the drain system affecting the water in the bowl / trap? Such as pressure or vacuum in the drain line caused by inadequate venting? Did you check the underside of the tank lid for condensation?
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Jul 12, 2015 at 19:29
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    Do you have a lot of minerals in your water? Over time, scale buildup on the sealing parts of the fill valve may prevent it from closing perfectly.
    – CactusCake
    Jun 5, 2018 at 15:58
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    There are some cheap fill valves. Yes, I would expect more than a 3-year life, but would believe failures earlier. Write to the manufacturer and see if they warranty for longer. Some have a cartridge kit to replace the innards without replacing the entire assembly.
    – BowlOfRed
    Jun 5, 2018 at 22:38

2 Answers 2

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My intuition tells me this is the fill valve, it stopped when the fill line / valve were de-pressured overnight.

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  • I replaced the fill valve and the sound is gone.
    – stannius
    Aug 10, 2015 at 20:55
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If it's an American standard (newer toilet) like a cadet 3 or champion 4, this is normal. The tank is high on the bowl and the sound is from the flush valve dripping in to the tank and it sounds like it's dripping into the crawl space.

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