toilet runs briefly, etc.

[Gary C]

I've noticed that as soon as something is added to the water sitting in the bowl, the toilet begins to run briefly. I've never seen this happen on another toilet. This toilet also suffers from occasional "lazy flush" problems...the water will not completely empty out of the bowl every time, even if there is nothing in the bowl to flush. I am wondering if these things are related? Perhaps the running is an indicator of what might be wrong? The jet holes are clear, tank level is fine, and stack is clear. This toilet is on the first floor, and the toilet in the basement never has a problem. I was going to go ahead and replace the flapper, but before I did so, I thought someone might be able to diagnose the problem. Thanks.

[Roger Ramjet]

[Homer L. Hazel]

I had (have) a toilet that used to run briefly. It took several weeks to figure out why. I replaced the flapper twice - thinking I might not have bought a 'good enough' flapper the first time.

What I finally discovered was that I had a hairline crack on the bottom of the tank that was allowing a very slight amount of water to leak. Don't know what caused it, maybe one of our California earthquakes. The water was leaking into the stool rather than on the floor which made it harder to diagnose. I finally added food coloring to the water in the tank. When the water in the stool turned color, I knew I had a leak. Well - I already knew I had a leak since the level in the tank would drop and have to be refilled, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, it was right around one of the bolts that holds the tank to the stool. I epoxied a piece of plastic over the crack as a temporary fix until we can have it replaced with a "much better" toilet.

Larry Hazel