by Lewis Wuest

Created on: February 18, 2007   Last Updated: April 23, 2007

Toilets and toilet repair

Toilets are actually fairly simple structures that can be easily fixed by just about anyone. There are two major parts, the tank and the bowl, that make up the toilet. These are usually made out of porcelain. Located inside the tank is the plumbing that makes the toilet flush when the handle is pushed down. This plumbing consists of several pieces.

Parts of the toilet and how they work:

The water inlet is located in the tank and off to one side and is usually almost as tall as the tank, though some models only come a few inches off the tank bottom. This is a hollow tube through which water flows to fill the tank from the houses water system. The bottom of the fill tube is threaded and fits through a hole in the bottom of the tank extending a couple inches past the bottom of the tank. A plastic nut threads onto the bottom of the tube holding it in place. Enough threads extended beyond the bottom of the nut for the fill hose coming from the supply valve to attach to. On the top of the fill tube is a water control valve or assembly. This has a valve that controls the flow of water into the toilet tank. The valve will have some type of flotation device attached to it. This can be in the form of a hollow air filled plastic ball attached to a long rod, or a float that fits loosely around the water inlet tube so that it can move freely up and down the tube. In addition to filling the tank the water valve will have a small rubber tube coming from it that leads to the overflow pipe. When the valve is open filling the tank some water will flow through this pipe, into the overflow tube and down into the toilet bowl, filling the toilet bowl to the proper level.

In the bottom center of the tank is the overflow tube, flush valve. and flapper assembly.

When a person pushes the handle down to flush the toilet a long arm inside the tank, called the lift rod, is raised. This arm is attached to the flapper assembly in the bottom of the toilet by a chain or rubber strip. When the lift rod is raised the flapper valve is lifted off of the large hole in the bottom of the tank called the flush valve. This allows the water in the tank to rapidly drain through the flush valve and into the bowl. It is the water flowing quickly out of the tank and into the bowl the creates pressure that forces the water and waste out of the toilet bowl and down into the waste pipes and eventually to the sewer system or septic tank.

As the water level in the tank drops the float attached

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