How to Fix Slow-Filling Toilet After Flushing

You’ve just flushed your toilet, washing your hands, and are ready to do your business. However, after a while, you suddenly notice that something is amiss. Your toilet seems to be filling up much slower than usual. A slow-filling toilet is a common household issue for many homeowners. It can be annoying when that happens, especially if you only have one toilet in your home.

There could be several reasons why your toilet is not filling up the way it should. There might be a problem with the supply in the water valve, for one thing. Or it could be because the float ball has become waterlogged. There could be issues with your fill valve pipe too. Your toilet troubles might be related to any of those reasons.

Luckily, all of these issues are easy enough to fix with the help of a plumber Oakville. If you are a handy homeowner, you can also try repairing it yourself. Here is a guide on how to fix a slow-filling toilet after flushing:

1. Clean the debris out of your fill valve

If you notice that your fill valve doesn’t seem to be turning on or off after hitting the flush button, it might be time to clean out the valve. First, turn off the tap before you do anything else to avoid water splashing all over the place. Remove the lid of your toilet. Right at the top is going to be your fill valve.

Remove the cap on the fill valve. When you do this, be careful not to rotate the valve. Once you open the valve, you’ll be able to check if there’s dirt sitting around the opening or inside the pipe. Next, get a glass or anything you prefer to use as a substitute.

You’re going to place the glass over the opening of the valve. You’re then going to turn the water on and let it shoot out through the pipe. The glass (or anything you use as a covering) will stop the water splashing everywhere. By allowing the water to shoot through the pipes, any dirt or debris trapped in there will come flying out, effectively clearing this passageway.

Once you’ve done this for several minutes, screw the cap back on. This should hopefully get your toilet to fill properly again.

2. Unclog the float ball

If a saturated float ball causes your toilet woes, that is also a quick and easy fix. The float ball is hard to miss once you remove the lid of your toilet tank. It sits at the very top, and it is there to help control how much water comes into your tank.

Over time, it is possible for the float ball to eventually become waterlogged. When this happens, your tank will not work at its maximum efficiency. When the right amount of water is not getting through, your tank could be filling up slower than it should.

To determine if this is the source of the problem, you will need to check the water levels in your tank once you’ve removed the lid. If your tank looks like it is only partially full, the float ball might be soaked after all. Your float ball’s ideal position should be somewhere near the top of the tank, not in the middle.

Waterlogged float balls need to be replaced. This step is pretty easy because you need to remove the old ball and replace it with a new one. Oh, and if you didn’t know, a float ball is considered “old technology.” You’ll find that many modern toilets don’t have a float ball at all. If you have an old toilet with a float ball mechanism, it might be time to replace your toilet with a more modern or recent component.

3. Your water pressure might be too low

Sometimes, the slow-filling toilet could be caused by a very simple problem. Your water pressure may be too low. This can happen when your home experiences a sudden dip in the water pressure. When this happens, it is usually caused by a pipe that might be clogged or damaged somewhere.

To determine if this is the case, you’ll need to check the water supply around the other parts of your home. If the same thing is happening with your taps and sinks, you could potentially have a water supply problem on your hands. If this is the issue, you might have to ring the plumber to get it fixed.

4. Call the plumber

If none of the steps above work to get your toilet back into working order, it might be time to ring your plumber. Plumbers have the experience and the necessary tools to get the job done. It’ll save you from much bigger and more expensive repairs when you put your trust in the right professional from the start.