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I just came back from holiday to find that water was pouring constantly through my dual-flush toilet, as though it's on permanent flush. A little tinkering revealed the shut off valve is broken - so no matter where the float is, the cistern continues to fill.

Apparently this apparatus is called the Bottom Inlet Valve and isn't too difficult to replace.

Anyway, the toilet is also supposed to apparently have a shut off valve, as this is standard on all modern toilets. Even if I can't do the work myself, it would be useful to shut this off when not in use to stop the noise and waste water.

The problem with all of this is that all the internal plumbing on the toilet is concealed. There's not even any visible screws to put in the toilet seat. Nor is there any panels to remove that I can see to get at the pipes.

There are just two screws, just above floor level, one of either side of the toilet. I have removed these, but nothing has come lose or started to shift. I Can't see anything that would just "come away" - the whole bowl of the toilet looks like a solid block of porcelain.

How do I get to the pipework on my toilet, to see if there's an turn-off valve or find where the bottom inlet valve screws in to the cistern?

EDIT: Some pictures of the cistern mechanism and the outside of the toilet. I'm not just interested in isolating the water. I need to find the inlet pipe itself, so I can disconnect the faulty valve.

toilet cistern

toilet exterior

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    The only shut-off valves I've seen have been external, between toilet and the house plumbing. If you can't locate yours, you may need to find a valve farther upstream.
    – keshlam
    Commented Aug 31, 2015 at 13:02
  • @keshlam Ah, ok. But I'd still like to know how to get to any of the pipes at all - I need to to try replacing the valve.
    – Bob Tway
    Commented Aug 31, 2015 at 14:39
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    maybe you could post some images for better orientation.
    – Ariser
    Commented Aug 31, 2015 at 15:03
  • Did you ever solve this?
    – RedGrittyBrick
    Commented Oct 23, 2017 at 15:17

3 Answers 3

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I believe that your statement "the toilet is also supposed to apparently have a shut off valve" refers to rough plumbing and NOT the toilet. I am not aware of any toilet with a shut-off valve inside the toilet. If you don't have an external shut-off valve close to the external supply hose/pipe that connects to the toilet tank, you may not have a valve. In this case, the only way to turn off the water supply for the toilet is to find another valve on this system- most likely the whole-house valve, like keshlam suggested. It is unlikely that the shut-off valve is in the wall.

This image is a good example of a toilet shut-off- valve:

enter image description here

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  • I see. I read somewhere that in Europe (where I am), most modern toilets had these valves by default. I've posted some pictures of the mechanisms that are visible. I just want to find where any of the pipes are at all!
    – Bob Tway
    Commented Aug 31, 2015 at 18:51
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    I still think that you're confusing the shut-off valve with something else. What is the brand and model of the toilet? If all of the plumbing is concealed, as it looks from the photo, and there is no external plumbing I would hope that the plumber who installed it put a shut-off valve somewhere in the supply line.
    – paulmz
    Commented Aug 31, 2015 at 19:11
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I do not know anything about american toilet systems, but in Europe the shutoff valve is usually located directly inside the flushing tank of concealed flushing systems.

You get there usually by removing the cover of the flushing lever/button. For this purpose in most cases a snap-fit mechanism has to be overcome.

I can imagine, that the valve was inside the tank of all concealed flushing systems all over the world, because it directs any water from a broken valve or pipe into the toilet and not into your house's structure. Of course, just a suspicion.

Pictures of a european concealed flushing system and its repair

After having seen the OP's pictures, I have to concede, this is far from what I described. But maybe I can add some more hints. You can see a product label on the first pic with a bar code. Could be a GTIN which you can use to find the product and an installation manual from the manufacturer in the internet. This installation manual could give other hints to where a valve could possibly be.

What I would try next is to remove the two screws holding the cistern and very carefully pull it away from the wall, with little force and only a few millimeters. Then I'd try to look behind it with a mirror to see, where the pipe is entering the wall and if there are other mounting devices.

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  • Interesting design variant!
    – keshlam
    Commented Aug 31, 2015 at 16:52
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Bit late for the OP, but mine's through a cap here. I'd imagine his is in the same place, perhaps on the other side. If there's no cap, maybe the base needs pulling out.

enter image description here

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  • Nice. Are you saying that after the cap is removed, you can see/manipulate the shut off valve? The photo makes it look too small to operate (unless you need a tool of some sort).
    – BowlOfRed
    Commented Sep 7, 2018 at 23:35
  • Yes, it needs a screwdriver.
    – rich
    Commented Sep 8, 2018 at 7:22

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