Toilet repair in Los Angeles for running, rocking and leaking toilets

A running toilet is almost always one of two parts. The flapper at the bottom of the tank lets water slip into the bowl when its rubber hardens or warps, and the fill valve keeps topping off the tank to replace it. Or the fill valve itself fails to shut off and sends water down the overflow tube.

Hard LA water is rough on both. Scale stiffens rubber flappers and clogs the small passages in fill valves, so parts that last much longer in softer water regions often wear out faster here. We replace the flapper and fill valve as a pair on an older toilet, set the water level to the line on the tank, and adjust the chain so the flapper seals every time.

A running toilet can quietly add a lot to a water bill. If you have a bill jump and no visible leak, a toilet is the first thing to check before calling for a hidden leak search.

When a toilet leaks at the floor, we pull it. That means shutting the supply, draining the tank and bowl, removing the bolts and lifting the bowl off. Underneath we can see whether the wax ring was crushed, whether the flange sits too low below the finished floor, or whether the flange itself has cracked or rusted away.

Cast iron flanges in older LA houses often corrode at the bolt slots, and a bowl that has rocked for months can break the flange ring. We repair those with a stainless repair ring or replace the flange, use a thicker or stacked seal when the floor has been raised by new tile, and shim the bowl so it sits solid before the bolts are snugged down.

• Wax or foam seal replaced on every reset
• Broken flanges repaired or replaced
• New brass or stainless closet bolts
• Bowl shimmed level on uneven tile
• Subfloor checked for rot before reinstalling

A sluggish flush can come from mineral scale in the rim jets, a low tank level, or a partial clog in the trap. We clear the trap with a closet auger, check the jet and rim holes, and set the tank level correctly. Sometimes the toilet is fine and the problem is the line it drains into.

If the toilet gurgles when the washer drains, or the tub fills when you flush, the blockage is downstream in the main line, not in the toilet. That needs a drain line cleared from a cleanout rather than more plunging.

Most toilets are worth repairing. Tank parts are inexpensive, and a well-set bowl can last for decades. Replacement makes more sense when the porcelain is cracked, when an old high-volume toilet keeps clogging, or when parts for an unusual model are hard to find.

Older toilets from before the low-flow era can use far more water per flush than current models, which adds up in a household with several people. If yours is cracked or keeps needing work, our toilet installation service covers removing the old one and setting a new high-efficiency model.