Fix a Running Toilet Cheaply

LESLIE: John in Connecticut needs some help in the bathroom. What can we do for you?

ANN: I’m sorry. My husband had to leave and it’s me, now, on the phone. (laughs)

LESLIE: (chuckling) OK.

TOM: OK, what’s your name?

ANN: He has no patience. (Tom and Leslie chuckle) That’s always what’s wrong with the toilet. (all laugh) The toilet runs unless you jiggle it; jiggle the little handle. And we can’t seem to get it fixed anywhere. Maybe it’s old and the parts aren’t available but is there something that we can do besides getting a new one?

TOM: Yes. Now you say the parts are not available anywhere? Have you tried the Fluidmaster website?

ANN: Fluidmaster? No.

TOM: Yeah, Fluidmaster is a good brand. They make toilet guts, essentially, for almost any fixture in the country. What’s happening is you need a new fill-and-flush valve, which are easily replaceable and …

LESLIE: And inexpensive, too.

TOM: And inexpensive and not a difficult project either. I mean if your husband is a bit handy, he could probably do it himself.

ANN: Yeah, he is. He can do it, probably. So it’s a fill-and-flush valve?

TOM: It’s a …

LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Impatient but handy. (Ann laughs)

TOM: (chuckling) Yes.

ANN: Oh, you know him, huh? (chuckles)

TOM: (overlapping voices) Fill-and-flush valve.

ANN: OK, so it’s a fill-and-flush valve and I can get it online at Fluidmaster.

TOM: Fluidmaster.com or it’s – they’re also sold at hardware stores and home centers all over the place.

ANN: Great. OK. Well, thank you very much. This is something we’ve been working – you know, talking about and never getting fixed.

TOM: Alright, well tell John he should have stayed on the phone because now he’s got a project to do. (Leslie chuckles)