Taps & Toilets

• When your toilet takes several flushes to clear, the first thing you should check is if the water in the tank is low. Adjust your float to increase the water level and ensure that the level is at least an inch below the overflow tube.
• It could be that the flapper closes too soon. Check the length of the chain. Adjust the chain slack to about a quarter to half an inch of slack.
• Check the fill tube between the fill valve and the overflow tube. The first flush will serve merely to fill the bowl while getting ready for the next flush, if the bowl is not filled prior to flushing.
• Finally, it could be that there is some material that is clogging the trap-way of the bowl, the trap, vent pipe or drain pipe and slowing the siphon action of the flush. Use a plunger, a toilet auger, a snake, or a blow-bag to unclog.

Toilets have an elaborate plumbing system which carries waste out of the home and often miles away to sewage and reclamation plants. In most cases, as a result of this complicated system, toilets tend to make a range of noises, with some being normal and others occurring due to the breakdown or malfunction of one or more parts. A groaning noise is often a common problem. It comes from a problem with the diaphragm in the bullock (fill-valve). This is the case even if the diaphragm looks like it is okay. It will not require cleaning or repair, but a replacement of the fill-valve diaphragm and an adjustment of the water level in the tank will solve the problem.

Mixer showers have difficulty controlling water temperature. When the toilet is flushed somewhere in the house, or a cold faucet is switched on, the cold-water supply is suddenly reduced. This means that a higher proportion of hot water is coming through the shower. The opposite is the case when someone turns on the hot faucet, causing the water from the shower to be freezing cold. This can be remedied with mixer showers that are plumbed into the wall and use built-in thermostats. These constantly regulate the temperature of the mixed water to ensure adequate temperature.

A dripping tap can easily be fixed through any of the following means:

• Change the cartridge or washer depending on the design of the faucet: turn off the water supply and drain the system. Pry off the cover of the faucet and remove the screw. Use an adjustable wrench to loosen the nut counterclockwise. Remove the headgear/cartridge and fit in a new one. Reassemble the tap and turn on the water supply.
• Grind the seat to stop drips: if, after you have changed the washer, the faucet still drips from the spout, it may be that the valve seat (the part pushed against by the washer) is worn. You could use a nylon liner to make a new valve seat or grind away a little of the metal to form a new, flat seat.