Whistling Toilet?

[CWLee]

Within the past week I installed Korky/Lavelle brand toilet overhaul kits inside the tanks of my three toilets. They all work fine. One of the three toilets has become a "whistling toilet" - meaning that at unpredictable times there is a constant whistle sound coming from inside the tank. I flush it, and the whistling stops - but resumes between 30 minutes and 24 hours later. The instructions that came with the kits do not address this problem. No response from the manufacturer.

Any ideas how to stop this?

Thanks.

[Rick Brandt]

Likely your tank is leaking into the bowl and the valve is opening very slightly to refill the tank. Fix the leak and you should fix the noise.

You can confirm by putting dye into the tank and letting it sit for a while. If any color shows up in the bowl then you have a leak.

[Meat Plow]

Looks like the flapper is leaking slightly and the fill valve then opens little making the whistling noise.

[CWLee]

OP responds:

"Meat Plow" and "Rick Brandt" both suggested the sound was caused by a leak which in turn causes the fill valve to open. Maybe that is true, but I wonder why I don't hear that same sound when the fill valve is opened during a flush, or when I push the float down. Ideas?

Thanks.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Can you whistle? Can you whistle with your mouth wide open?

Just like air through your lips, the water only makes the sound when flowing through a tiny orifice, not a wide open tube. It sets up the right harmonics to make the sound you hear. It is a tiny leak.

[greg2468]

Sorry, I cannot resist. The toilet whistles because it does not know the words.

[Stormin Mormon]

Can you tell what is the tune?

[Stormin Mormon]

Hums, cause it doesn't know the words.... hums.

[CWLee]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote

open?

I can't whistle at all, but I see your point.

sound when flowing

the right

To test idea that I used a spoon and cup and gently removed water from the tank until the fill valve started flowing a very small amount. A fzzzzz sound, very low, but no whistle.

It has now been two days without the whistling effect, so maybe the problem was something related to a fresh installation of rubber washers or the flapper valve and things have now swollen or otherwise assumed their intended shape and are doing their designed job of not allowing leaks.

Another thought I've had is that whenever I shut the water off at the street for plumbing repairs air bubbles or something seems to develop in the lines, so that when the water is turned back on, and faucets opened or toilets flushed, there is sometimes a sputtering of water and air. Maybe one of my hypothsized air bubbles was causing the whistling.

Thanks for your theory on the whistling, but I'm not 100% convinced you are correct. :-)

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Fine. Three people have told you that is the cause. Best to call a plumber and have him rectify the situation before it becomes more serious.

[CWLee]

"Best to call a plumber and have him rectify the situation before it becomes more serious."

"More serious" meaning, maybe, the toilet starts singing off-key? :-)

(Day 3 now of no whistling.)

Thanks again.