How to Change a Toilet Flapper

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  VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

How to Replace a Toilet Flapper

Is your toilet running? If it is, you’d better go catch it. I was just kidding. It shouldn’t be moving. That’s a bigger issue not for this video. Anyway, if you’ve got a running toilet, we’re going to try and help you fix a running toilet by showing you how to replace the flapper--that’s one of the most common causes of a running toilet. Anyway, let’s go learn how to do it. Wait, don’t forget to subscribe. I keep forgetting to tell you at the beginning of the video--don’t forget to subscribe.

Well, that was embarrassing.

When it comes to how to fix a running toilet, or a toilet that’s leaking, the main culprit is usually a flapper. That’s why we’re going to start with it, and it’s the easiest one to do yourself. Now, a toilet that leaks can waste up to 73,000 gallons of water per year. Anyway, here’s how to replace the toilet flapper… Actually, you know what? This toilet in my house doesn’t leak, so we need to go find one that does. Beam me up, Potty.

Alright, here we are, and as you can hear, we’ve got a toilet that’s running. So we’re going show you how to stop this toilet from running. This toilet actually has a bad flapper, and I’ve got a replacement flapper right here. You can actually pick one of these up at your local hardware store anywhere from 5-13 bucks. They’re going to come in different sizes--I would say the most common sizes are 2 or 3 inches.

So we’re going to go ahead and replace this flapper, should be pretty easy. I don’t actually need any tools to do it on this toilet, and I don’t think that you’ll need any tools on yours. So the first step you’re going to do is actually to shut the water off. Remove the lid from the tank.

Next, you want to flush the toilet to empty the water out of the tank. Hold the handle down so all of the water drains out of the tank.

Then, remove the chain from the flush arm. The flapper should be connected to the flush valve at the base by two tabs. Disconnect the tabs and remove the old flapper. Now, you can see how, over time, this flapper has started to deteriorate. The material is leaving my hands black and sooty.

Run your fingers along the inside and the top of the flush valve to make sure it’s smooth. We don’t want there to be any mineral deposits or hard water buildup that would cause the flapper not to make a good seal. It’s good practice to clean the rim of this opening, so use a sponge or paper towel to clean it.

Then, you just repeat those steps in reverse order to install the new flapper. Connect the new flapper to the base of the flush valve with the two tabs. The, connect the chain to the chain arm. Now, if you have excess chain, you want to adjust the length. You don't want to have too much play in the chain, because when the flapper closes, you don’t want the chain to get caught between the flapper and the flush valve. Turn the water back on to fill the tank.

You see how the water is coming out of the top of this fill valve? That is not normal, and we’re going to need to replace this as well, but we’ll do this in the next video. Then, flush and test your new flapper. All you have left to do is put the lid back on the tank, and you should be good to go.

Now this toilet still has a bad fill valve--we’re going to make that video next. Check the description below for a link to that. If you found this video about how to fix a running toilet by replacing the flapper helpful and informative, give us a thumbs up. We want to know that you like what we’re making. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about any major systems in your home, leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Don’t forget to subscribe--there’s a big button right over there. Have a great day, and thanks for watching.