No party pooping: Follow these tips to tune the toilet in your home

The unsung “heroes of the household” are our toilets. Just like a lot of other household items around your home, you don’t think much about toilets until they aren’t working – especially when they are in need of being frequently used.

Speaking of frequently used … what would you guess the single busiest toilet day to be? Thanksgiving? Christmas? Well, it turns out that all across the United States, the busiest day for the toilet is The Super Bowl Sunday. That’s right. Big parties plus lots of appetizers, food and drink, makes for many extra flushes.

To help make sure your facilities are ready for the big game day, we have put together a quick list of checks you can do ahead of the party:

Check the toilet flapper

Are you constantly hearing water running in your toilet’s tank – or is it flushing by itself? That may be a sign of a bad flapper. It’s often the part that requires on-going maintenance and checking. It’s very easy to change this yourself. Remove the lid from the top of the tank to access it. Take the old one with you to the hardware store to make sure you purchase the right one!

Check the toilet flush handle

While checking the flapper, check the chain that connects the flapper to the flush handle. Make sure the strap isn’t too loose, or too tight. Also check the flush handle itself to make sure it is tightly secured to the wall of the tank. If it’s lose, simply reach into the tank and give the nut on the inside a good tightening.

Check for leaks at the base

Is there water on the floor around your toilet and the toilet did not overflow? Most likely, it’s a faulty or older wax ring. This too is a simple DIY project if you can lift the toilet off the base. Once the toilet is removed, replace the old wax ring with the new one. Be sure that the toilet if flush to the floor and that the stool is level before tightening the bolts.

Check the fill valve

Next, inspect your fill valve. After a flush open the tank and watch the water level. Make sure the fill valve shuts off the water just before it reaches the overflow tube. Adjust it accordingly up or down with the screw on the adjustable fill valve or ballcock if the water is too high or too low.

Check the toilet bowl itself

As for the bowl itself, check it over to ensure that it is flowing smoothly with no obstructions. If the water is slow to flush and / or gets near to the brim before draining, it may be time for a plumber to snake the system. Make sure that you aren’t flushing things like facial tissues, cotton swabs or other non-toilet paper items down the bowl. There is NO such thing as flushable wipes.

Keep a plunger close by the toilet for the unanticipated overflow event.

Checking over these items on each of your toilets will help you ensure there aren’t any unwanted interruptions at your next gathering. Should you notice, however, that your toilet is flushing slowly, or requires multiple flushes, call a Rosie-Certified plumber right away!