Just found out by my husband the toilet handle is completly down and it will not flush.My husband lifted up the lid and all he told me the plug is out( don't know if the chain has been broke).
He went off to work without fixing it but before I do any investigating or fixing up.What would be the proper thing to do first so I am not messing the toilet up--Yes,this is my 1st time fixing a toilet..lol
2006-12-25 14:49:06 · 10 answers · asked by wsm0628 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Yeah, this happened to me once. Get some gloves and go into the back of your toilet bowl. The handle should be connected to a stick or rod, which is in turn connected to the plug. My best guess is that this stick is broken. In which case, you have three options:
1) Tape it up somehow
2) Attach a piece of string to the plug directly, and trail this outside of the toilet bowl (so you can flush it)
3) Buy a replacement (probably the best long-term option). You can go to any hardware store and grab the stuff you need in the plumbing section.
I never thought I would be telling anyone this...
2006-12-25 14:54:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turn off the valve at the supply line. It is located underneath the back of the toilet near the floor and will be coming out of the wall.
Go buy flush hand with a flapper valve.
remove one at a time and replace the new one exactly as you took off the old handle and then the same for the flapper.
Hook the chain on the handle to the flapper so the chain will pull up the flapper.
Turn on the water. Problem solved.
2006-12-25 15:03:15 · answer #2 · answered by Teesip 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take the lid off and check if the chain is off. The chain may be caught under the "plug" and just need reattaching. It might be that simple, but I do not think so if "the plug is out". I think the black thing (called a flapper valve) that falls back down when the flush is ended is probably worn out. It is made of rubber and is very easily replaceable, even by a non-plumber. :-) You can get one at any Home depot and it will have real easy instructions to replace. It is usually just a matter of unhooking the old part and re-hooking the new. (and as the "hooks" are usually just like the hook on the back of the door to hang your towel, it really IS that easy.)
J.
2006-12-25 15:02:24 · answer #3 · answered by Jackie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the handle fell off, not unusual, then the nut is somewhere in the tank or on the handle. It's a big nut and, screws on backward, remember that, backward. If it's the chain you'll have to mess with that until you get it right. There should be wear spots on it to show where it was set at. If it was the flush bulb at the bottom that lets the water through, the same you'll have to mess with that.
It's pretty hard to explain to you what to do without showing you.
2006-12-25 23:11:31 · answer #4 · answered by cowboydoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's a chain that attaches to the inside part of the toilet handle. There's usually 2 or 3 holes in the metal bar that attaches to the handle. There's a hook on the chain that goes into one of the holes, depending on the length the chain needs to be in order for the toilet to flush. It could be the the hook separated from the chain or just became detached. Look for the chain and put your hand in the tank to retrieve it and fish around for the hook if you need to. Good luck. Just examine the pieces and hook it together until the handle works properly again.
2006-12-25 14:57:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the handle is just lying there it is definitely not attached to the arm that controls the float. The arm will have a hole in it to slip the chainlink into....when you do this, make sure the chain is not too tight or too loose or there won't be enough tension to make the float go down when you flush. You'll just have to play with this a bit to get the correct setting.
The only way the handle could lie there is if it wasn't connected to anything.
2006-12-25 15:02:30 · answer #6 · answered by thepianoman1457 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU- the nut on the back of the handle is left-hand thread, if you go to turn it, it may break the side of the water tank. The chain pulls the flapper valve in the bottom of the toilet up to flush.
2006-12-25 15:01:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, the handle is attached to a rod or plastic chain of some sort that attaches to the plug. you don't really need plastic gloves, because all the water back there is clean and unused, trust me.
you can go to lowes or someplace nearby to buy a replacement chain, and it comes with instructions. very simple to do.
(i'm a novice at toilet repair too!)
2006-12-25 14:58:25 · answer #8 · answered by puffenstuffsrevenge 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
is better to fix all the part complete
my husband is always at the idea if we going to do do correct
so better to buy all the new part and do it as we start it
2006-12-25 15:09:29 · answer #9 · answered by mariagarzasea 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
look underneath and shut the water off...
2006-12-25 14:57:40 · answer #10 · answered by jstrmbill 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋