by Francis Jock

Created on: April 20, 2009   Last Updated: May 01, 2012

While you may have taken your toilet for granted, it is actually the most important fixture in your home. Toilets perform the important function of automatically carrying waste water out of your home, freeing you from the thankless burden of emptying the family chamber pot at midnight. A toilet that isn't performing properly demands immediate attention in order to prevent water damage, waste, and odor.

Fixing your toilet need not be a "For Plumbers Only" job if you know how the components of a toilet system work. With a few common hand tools and materials you should be able to repair you toilet quickly and then take pride in your accomplishment of having mastered the throne in your home. Here's how to fix your toilet.

Toilet Components

Most standard toilets found in millions of homes consist of two parts: the toilet bowl and the flush tank. These are made from ceramic pottery material following a design that dates back to an English watchmaker's design for a water closet that dates back to 1775. Naturally, it has been significantly improved upon since then, but the basic concept of using an "S" trap to hold water remains unchanged.

How a toilet works

Toilets work their magic by holding its contents in one half of the "S" shaped trap until it is forced out by gravity and a "flush" on incoming water from a tank holding more water above it. Today's tanks are designed to flush efficiently with only 1.6 gallons of water, compared to the 7-gallon tanks of just a few years ago.

Water in the flush tank is held in check by a rubber flapper valve which is attached to a handle by a chain or some similar mechanism. Pushing down on the flush handle raises the flapper valve, allowing the tank's contents to rapidly drain into the toilet bowl below. The bowl's contents are forced through the "S" trap into the waste water disposal system below. The amount of water held by the tank is controlled by a float-and-valve assembly, sometimes called a "ball-cock".

As the water drains out of the flush tank, the float lowers and opens a valve to the water supply line thereby refilling the tank. When the tank's flapper valve falls back into place, thereby stopping the flow of water from the tank into the bowl, water begins to refill the tank. Once the water level has risen to the proper level the float closes the water supply valve. Now the toilet is primed for the next time it is called into service.

Sources of Toilet Trouble

There are only two places that toilet trouble can arise. The

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