Your toilet relies on a fill valve to control the water that enters the tank and eventually flushes the toilet bowl. The valve is made of plastic and has a rubber washer, and these parts can wear out over the years. It's a fairly common problem that a plumber can deal with by replacing the valve with a new one. Here are some problems you may notice when the fill valve in your toilet goes bad.

1. Water Is Dripping From The Tank

The hose that supplies water to your toilet connects to the bottom of the fill valve. There's a washer at the bottom of the valve that can go bad. If the washer wears down and starts leaking, water will drip from the tank and collect on the floor.

The water will roll down the water hose, so it may look like it's dripping from the hose or water valve, but it's really coming from inside the tank. The only solution for this type of toilet leak is to replace the fill valve. A new washer comes with the new valve, and once the plumber installs the new parts, the toilet will stop leaking.

2. The Toilet Has A Weak Flush

A weak flush can be caused by low water in the tank. If water doesn't fill up the tank, there won't be enough water dumped in the toilet bowl to make a vigorous flush. If the toilet fill valve is faulty, it won't let the right amount of water in the tank. It may close too soon and only let the water fill partially.

This problem is often due to scale buildup inside the tube in the valve. Cleaning the parts of the valve is usually too much trouble and takes too much time for a plumber to do. It's easier to replace the entire valve so you have clean parts that won't have problems with clogging due to scale buildup for a long time.

3. The Toilet Runs All The Time

A toilet tank that's constantly filling is a bad situation since it could potentially cause a flood in your bathroom. As long as the overfill tube is functioning, the excess water will drain into the bowl. Still, a running toilet is a problem you want to fix right away because it will skyrocket your water bill.

When the fill valve isn't working properly, it shuts off too soon, or it may not shut off at all. If the valve doesn't shut completely off, you'll waste water as a constant flow will enter the tank. If you don't know how to replace the parts in the toilet tank, you can shut the water off at the cut-off valve behind your toilet so you don't waste water while waiting on the plumber to replace the fill valve.

Contact a plumber for more information.