Making Minor Adjustments to Your Toilet
Over time, through normal use, toilets can get out of
adjustment. This guide presents some common adjustments and
simple repairs you may need to perform over the life of your
toilet to ensure it is operating correctly and efficiently. The
adjustments below are all relatively easy and good starting
points for fixing common toilet problems. If these adjustments
don’t solve your problem, look at the related projects menu for
other repair instructions. Replacing toilet parts, or even an
entire toilet, has never been easier.
Steps 1 - 5 of 5Print Project SheetEmail a Friend
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Step One
Adjusting the Tank Handle When Loose
1. Clean and adjust the handle mounting nut so the handle
operates smoothly.
2. If the tank handle feels loose, use an adjustable wrench to
tighten the nut inside the toilet tank. The mounting nut has
reversed threads, which means you should loosen the nut by
turning it clockwise and tighten it by turning it
counterclockwise. (Caution: over-tightening the mounting nut can
crack the tank.)
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Step Two
Adjusting the Chain for Better Flushing
1. If you have to hold the handle to flush all the water from
the toilet tank, adjust the lift chain so it hangs straight from
the handle lever with about 1/2 inch of slack. Remove any excess
slack in the chain by hooking it on a different hole in the
handle lever or by hooking it onto different links.
2. If your toilet has lift wires, make sure they are straight
and operate smoothly when the handle is pushed. A sticky handle
often can be fixed simply by straightening a bent lift wire.
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Step Three
Adjusting the Water Level
1. If your toilet has a float arm, use the adjustment screw on
top of the fill valve to raise or lower the float arm. Older
float arms may not have an adjustment screw and should probably
be replaced with a newer, more modern, fill valve.
2. To adjust the water level on toilets with float cylinders,
squeeze the float clip to release the float cylinder and slide
up or down to adjust the water level in the toilet tank.
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Step Four
Adjusting the Toilet Seat
1. To tighten the toilet seat, pry back the bolt caps, and, using a screwdriver and an adjustable wrench, tighten the nut from below while holding the bolt steady with the screwdriver. If the toilet seat is still loose, it is probably time to replace it with a new one.
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Step Five
Replacing a Flapper
Minerals in your water and tank tablets containing chlorine can erode your flapper over time. If your toilet sometimes fills without being flushed, replacing the flapper may solve the problem.
1. Turn off the water supply at the shutoff valve and flush the toilet.
2. Remove the old flapper. If you don't already know what kind of flapper you need, you can take your old flapper to The Home Depot and get help selecting a replacement.
3. Install the new flapper and adjust the chain attached to the handle lift wire to ensure the flapper is flush with the valve seat.