A recent homeowner’s experience with a running toilet is a good reminder that you should take care of little issues around the house when you notice them. The Kirkland house was fully remodeled in 2018 and now had tenants living in the home. The homeowner’s only inkling that there might be a problem was that the water bill reflected a marked increase in the water usage. At first glance, they wondered if another person had moved in without notifying them and updating the lease. They checked in with the tenants who said no one had moved in and nor had they noticed anything amiss.

After a few months of continued bill increases, it became apparent that there was a true problem. Knowing that the pipe between the house and the street had been replaced a few years prior, there was little concern that this was the issue. After having the tenants check for water in every cabinet, they noted they’d observed that the toilet in the basement bathroom had been running more than usual. Since there were two other bathrooms in the home, they turned off the water source to the toilet to see if that affected water usage. Within 24 hours it was obvious that this one toilet, used minimally, was the source of the higher usage and hence the larger water bills, not to mention the waste of natural resources. The homeowners replaced the ‘guts’ of the toilet for under $10 and the problem was solved!