Is Your Toilet Running? Simple Checks
A running toilet can waste a lot of water. How to tell, and when to call a plumber.
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- Licensed plumbers and gasfitters
- Price agreed first
- Homes and shops
The signs
- a faint hiss or trickle after flushing has finished
- water running down the back of the bowl
- the cistern refilling by itself every so often
- a higher water bill
The food colouring test
Put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern, not the bowl, and wait twenty minutes without flushing. If colour appears in the bowl, the flush valve seal is leaking.
Common causes
- a worn or dirty flush valve seal
- an inlet valve that does not shut off
- the water level set above the overflow
- a sticking button
What you can do
Make sure the button is not sticking and nothing is caught under the seal. Do not use cistern tablets that contain chlorine, which can damage rubber seals.
When to call us
If the seal or valve is worn, we replace it with the right part for your cistern brand. We carry parts for common brands and can fix most cisterns in one visit.
Old cisterns
Very old cisterns may be worth replacing with a new water-efficient model.
Water bills and leak allowances
If a running toilet or hidden leak caused a large water bill, the water corporation may offer a leak allowance once the leak is repaired. Keep your plumber's invoice showing what was fixed.
Toilets that will not fill
If the cistern fills very slowly or not at all, the inlet valve may be blocked with grit or worn out, or the isolation valve under the cistern may be partly closed. Check the valve is fully open, then call us.
Listen at night
At night, when the house is quiet, a running cistern is easier to hear. If you hear water running in the toilet when nobody has used it, it is time to check.
Springvale ground and pipes
Springvale sits on a mix of sandy loam and heavier clay, and much of the suburb was built in the 1950s and 1960s with earthenware sewer pipes and galvanised or early copper water pipe. Clay joints shift over time and let roots in, rusting galvanised pipe slowly narrows and leaks, and drains under subdivided blocks are often shared between homes. We use drain cameras, locators and pressure tests to see exactly what is going on before anyone digs.
Related services
- Emergency plumbing
- Blocked drains
- Hot water
- Gas fitting
- Hot water replacement
- Heat pumps
- Leaking taps
- Burst pipes
- Toilets
- Leak detection
- Pipe relining
- Stormwater
- Bathrooms and kitchens
- Commercial plumbing
- Grease traps
- Backflow testing
More guides
Why Springvale homes and shops call us
Homes and shopfronts
From 1950s brick veneers to restaurant kitchens on the main strip, we work on both every week.
Plain explanations
We show you what we found, in plain English, with photos when they help.
A price before work
You get a fixed price once the fault is found. Nothing starts until you say yes.
Tidy and on time
We ring ahead, protect floors and take the old parts and mess away.
Get a free quote
Tell us what is happening and a licensed Springvale plumber will call you back.
How quoting works
Ring 03 7076 1660 or send the form with a short note and a photo if you can. A licensed plumber calls you back, asks a few questions and books a time. On site they find the cause, explain your options in plain English and give you a fixed price. Nothing starts until you agree, and larger jobs get a free written quote.
Need a plumber in Springvale?
Springvale, Springvale South, Noble Park, Keysborough and nearby suburbs. Quote-only: the plumber finds the fault first, then gives you a fixed price.