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So our pump kept going off randomly as well as our tank running out of water. I put a couple of drops of food colouring in this toilet tank and sure enough the toilet bowl filled with colored water. So it seems that there's a leak running into the bowl.

Can anyone let me know how to fix?

Here's a video of said leak (ignore the tp, it was used to wipe up excess food colouring!)

https://streamable.com/5wig

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  • Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. Nice diagnostic technique! Jul 7, 2016 at 22:44
  • Did you run a test with the toilet supply shut off?
    – DJohnM
    Jul 8, 2016 at 2:41
  • Essentially it's either the flapper or the float., but a video of the tank with the lid off would show which one was the problem. Jul 8, 2016 at 19:37

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Given a recent question, you might want to consider replacing the whole toilet. There are good examples of low-water-use toilets out now that reliably flush with far less water (1.28 gallons per flush) than older toilets, and you know all the parts will fit.

Otherwise you are looking at replacing, in order of ease, the flush valve or flapper (usually a rubbery part - they get old and crack or stiffen), or the flush valve seat and overflow tube (which often comes with a new valve) and pretty much always requires taking the tank off the bowl (cistern/pan for the across the pond folks.) Since you have to take the tank off the bowl, you'll want replacement gaskets for the tank to bowl screws.

That is assuming that you don't have a very simple issue such as a mis-adjusted float causing water to go over the top of the overflow tube - where you'd need to adjust the float, or replace a faulty fill valve if it can't be adjusted.

Aside from reduced water use, the main thing that buying a whole new toilet gets you is freedom from the multiplicity of different makes and models of toilet with non-interchangable parts. You want to know the brand (at least) of your toilet when you go shopping, and having some measurements or taking the defective part with you can help to sort out which parts will actually fit your particular toilet.

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