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I recently noticed some water coming out of the hole where the handle is on my toilet. Curious, I decided to take a peek. When I took the lid off of the back of the toilet and flushed, water started spraying out of the top of the float valve. I put the lid back on, flushed again, and I could see a small stream of water coming out of the handle. I see two ways of approaching this, but I would like to get your recommendations.

I suspect that this has been happening for a while, perhaps even before the previous tenants (this is in an apartment complex).

  1. Buy some sort of gasket or plug to put in the hole where the handle goes in to prevent water from coming out
  2. Buy a new float valve, and see if it still occurs.

Because this is an apartment complex, I'm a bit weary about buying a new float valve. I am also a fairly new into living on my own, and perhaps don't know the proper terminology. Is option 1 feasible, and if it is, do I have the proper terminology, or is there a more appropriate alternative?

Here is an image of the float valve Floater

Here is an image of it spraying Spray

And the trail of water on the tank Trail

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    Pictures would help a lot here. – Grant Sep 16 '15 at 20:55
  • No problem. I'll add pictures when I return home. – Zymus Sep 16 '15 at 20:55
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    Pump, or float valve? I suspect the latter. In any case, in an apartment complex first step is to contact the landlord and get them to either fix it, authorize you to hire someone to fix it and deduct that from the rent check, or fix it yourself ___if____ you really want to do so and they approve it; they won't pay for your time but should pay for parts. – keshlam Sep 16 '15 at 22:08
  • I have added images to the OP – Zymus Sep 17 '15 at 4:54
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The seal at the top of the valve has failed. Normally a small portion of the incoming water should go through that small tube off the side, while the rest of it should come out the bottom of the valve. None of it should be sprayed about like that.

If it were my toilet I'd see if I could take that top off and try to fix the seal, but I wouldn't try very hard, because it looks like a cheesy valve, and new ones are around $10-$15. If it were my landlord's toilet I'd tell the landlord about it. A good way to prompt some action would be to note that the toilet is leaking and probably causing damage to the floor.

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First thing you should do is call your landlord/superintendent. It's his responsibility to fix it. And most landlords aren't too happy when tenants try to do plumbing work on their own.

But if the landlord doesn't fix it, then feel free to take matters into your own hands. Come back here and post a picture so we can figure out what exactly is leaking (there are no pumps inside a toilet tank). It's probably a simple job. Hardware stores usually have a toilet repair kit that contains all the parts which break most often.

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  • I have added images to the OP – Zymus Sep 17 '15 at 4:54
  • Yeah, it's the valve. See Daniel's answer. – Mike Baranczak Sep 17 '15 at 15:27

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