toilet tank flapper

[dshop]

My toilet would not stop running (weeping slowly). Plumber pulled flapper (2 yrs. old) and it had a small blister on it, preventing sealing completely.
Plumber said Clorox block in tank degrades the flapper until it leaks...said to not use Clorox block.
Anyone have a similar experience?
I am on Septic...any issues there about using/ not using Clorox block in the toilet tank?
thank you for any replies.

 

[rlitman]

Clorox in the tank is bad. Anything that treats the water in the tank is going to destroy the valves. Don't use them.

The good options treat only the water that goes in the bowl. I use the Kaboom Scrub Free. This is a canister that connects inline to the tube that goes from the fill valve to the overflow that refills the bowl after a flush. I went with the Kaboom, because I can refill it with spa bromine tablets.

edit:
FYI, you can use pool chlorine tablets too, but the bromine has less smell.

 

[Marctrees]

Yup, true.

Do NOT add chlorine additives to toilet tank fill water.

It WILL degrade the flapper.

EVEN if high quality.

Regarding this issue at least, add whatever you want in the bowl, but NOT in the Tank.

Marc

 

[theoldwizard1]

Yup, true.

Do NOT add chlorine additives to toilet tank fill water.

It WILL degrade the flapper.

My wife does not care ! She will just tell me to change it !!

A month ago, my son said his toilet was running a lot. I stopped by HD to pick up a flapper. There must have been a DOZEN different styles !

Buy the CHEAPEST FluidMaster flapper you can find !

 

[C_F]

Clorox in the tank is bad. Anything that treats the water in the tank is going to destroy the valves. Don't use them.

The good options treat only the water that goes in the bowl. I use the Kaboom Scrub Free. This is a canister that connects inline to the tube that goes from the fill valve to the overflow that refills the bowl after a flush. I went with the Kaboom, because I can refill it with spa bromine tablets.

edit:
FYI, you can use pool chlorine tablets too, but the bromine has less smell.

I'm gonna have to check into that Kaboom thing.

Speaking of Clorox in the tank, I recently found out that it also softens the rubber seals on the bolts between the tank & bowl.

 

[BillK]

I keep 3 or 4 of them on hand. We have three toilets and use 2 of them daily. The two we use a lot have the Clorox bleach tabs in them at all times. Flappers usually last a year or so. Its a 5 minute job to change them. Consider it routine maintenance

 

[rjacobs]

you paid a plumber to change a $5 flapper valve in the toilet?

 

[ford33]

Yes, do not use bleach or those cleaning tabs in the tank.

 

[Showkey]

Bleach also does nothing good for the septic as well.

 

[Jaja]

I moved into a new house, and the basement toilet had had some funk in the bowl and tank. Bleach seemed like the solution...It was for destroying all rubber parts. Too bad I did this to all the other toilets as well. I ended up having to rebuild all of them. I hate flappers, over time they have one trouble or another. I rebuilt all with Mansfield style flush valves and Hydroclean fill valves that I got at ACE hardware. My local HD or Lowes doesn't have 1/2 the DIY plumbing parts as ACE.

 

[southalabama]

Most stories on garagejournal don't start with "the plumber said" rather they start with the problem and a picture of the new tool you bought to fix it.

 

[CJ7VFR]

I keep 3 or 4 of them on hand. We have three toilets and use 2 of them daily. The two we use a lot have the Clorox bleach tabs in them at all times. Flappers usually last a year or so. Its a 5 minute job to change them. Consider it routine maintenance

Same here. I keep a few flappers on hand for the same reasons.

Jim

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I rebuilt and replaced all the rubber in my toilet about three years after I moved in. Previous owner used bleach tabs in the tank. I've been using the Fluidmaster Flush and Sparkle system for ever since and have never had to replace anything. The treatment only goes into the bowl. They have "bleach", "blue" or "green" system that is septic safe.

Tommy

 

[CoogarXR]

I use Iron Out tabs. If it eats the flapper, oh well, I guess. If I don't use the tabs, chunks of rust build up under the flapper and it runs anyway. Our water ***** here.

 

[Chukster]

My town goes real heavy on the chlorine for treating water. Makes the rubber flappers stiff way before their time & then they start leaking slowly. I've just simply gone to having 2-3 spare flappers in the house at all times. Changeout takes less than 5 minutes.

Easy peasy

 

[Hubmonkey]

I am on Septic...any issues there about using/ not using Clorox block in the toilet tank?
thank you for any replies.

What type pf Septic?

We are on a Aerobic system and were told to keep things like Chemicals down to a minimum and they can adversely affect the bacteria in the system. We were told specifically not to use things like Anti-bacterial soaps and toilet treatments like the stick on or in tank cleaners. Cleaning your toilet once a week with a cleaner is a lot less in the septic than every single flush.

Hub

 

[Falcon67]

I am on Septic...any issues there about using/ not using Clorox block in the toilet tank?
thank you for any replies.

Bleach kills the bacteria that makes a septic system work. Use cleaners that are rated safe for use on septic systems.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I keep 3 or 4 of them (toilet flapper valves) on hand.

Be careful ! After probably 100 years, some of the new "low flush" toilets have gone to a LARGER tank to bowl connection and flapper !

 

[rharman]

Clorox in the tank is bad. Anything that treats the water in the tank is going to destroy the valves. Don't use them.

The good options treat only the water that goes in the bowl. I use the Kaboom Scrub Free. This is a canister that connects inline to the tube that goes from the fill valve to the overflow that refills the bowl after a flush. I went with the Kaboom, because I can refill it with spa bromine tablets.

edit:
FYI, you can use pool chlorine tablets too, but the bromine has less smell.

^^THIS^^ 110%. I used to buy the flappers 4 at a time until we switched to the inline bleach.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

We received our water bill the other day, we were totally blown away. Especially since our front yard is mostly paving stone, and our back yard has a good percentage of block also, along with an under construction area for our new garage. So no garden this year and no watering required. The remainder of the yard front and back is bordered in shrubs and flowers. The kids are in their own homes, so our water bill is relatively low.
It appears our basement toilet flapper has not been doing much of a seal. It doesn’t appear that is even happening. But a six month span since last actual reading shows a significant loss of water. If anything the water should be evaporating in the bowl from lack of use.
Replaced flapper and now it is all good. But the interesting test than can be easily done to check for this problem. Take food colour and drip some in the tank. Let it set for awhile then check to see if the bowl is a similar colour. If it is you have a problem. Replace flapper.

 

[PFSard]

Most stories on garagejournal don't start with "the plumber said" rather they start with the problem and a picture of the new tool you bought to fix it.

That's probably what really happened, but he was embarrassed to show how little he spent on tools to solve the problem.

 

[Marctrees]

We received our water bill the other day, we were totally blown away. Especially since our front yard is mostly paving stone, and our back yard has a good percentage of block also, along with an under construction area for our new garage. So no garden this year and no watering required. The remainder of the yard front and back is bordered in shrubs and flowers. The kids are in their own homes, so our water bill is relatively low.
It appears our basement toilet flapper has not been doing much of a seal. It doesn’t appear that is even happening. But a six month span since last actual reading shows a significant loss of water. If anything the water should be evaporating in the bowl from lack of use.
Replaced flapper and now it is all good. But the interesting test than can be easily done to check for this problem. Take food colour and drip some in the tank. Let it set for awhile then check to see if the bowl is a similar colour. If it is you have a problem. Replace flapper.

Yup, This.

Some months ago I had two flappers that seeped ever ever so slightly

Kinda coincidental, both started about the same week.

Anyway, shame on me, I did not tend to it for a few weeks....until the water bill came in about $70.. we are normally $35.

Shocking that such minimal seepage used that much, but the next month bill was back down to normal.

No more of those pills in the tank.

Marc

 

[6768rogues]

Never used a Clorox block or anything in the tank, but the toilet at my farm got a blister on the flapper and I had to replace it.

 

[C_F]

Never used a Clorox block or anything in the tank, but the toilet at my farm got a blister on the flapper and I had to replace it.

Was it a water blister?



Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week.

 

[ChevyEFI]

Clorox in the tank is bad. Anything that treats the water in the tank is going to destroy the valves. Don't use them.

The good options treat only the water that goes in the bowl. I use the Kaboom Scrub Free. This is a canister that connects inline to the tube that goes from the fill valve to the overflow that refills the bowl after a flush. I went with the Kaboom, because I can refill it with spa bromine tablets.

edit:
FYI, you can use pool chlorine tablets too, but the bromine has less smell.

^^THIS^^ 110%. I used to buy the flappers 4 at a time until we switched to the inline bleach.

x3

 

[fasteddie]

But the interesting test than can be easily done to check for this problem. Take food colour and drip some in the tank. Let it set for awhile then check to see if the bowl is a similar colour. If it is you have a problem. Replace flapper.

Good idea but you probably don't want to use red.

 

[Negen]

Why would red cause issues? I would think orange or yellow are too close to rust or urine to be identified proper. I would think blue or green would be good colour choices.

Sent from my G8141 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

the water bill came in about $70.. we are normally $35.
Marc

My wife takes care of the bills, but I believe our infrastructure prices are $35 for sewer and water. My buddy says their last months bill was just over $300 but then again their place has lots of garden and lawn space and everything is always well watered. This water meter is either manually read every 3 or 6 months. So sometimes the catch up on usage is brutal. Like if the flapper failed and for 6 months it was running 24/7 that is a lot of water.
My wife did use red, but it doesn't take to much it was more of a pink. The concentration on that food colouring is amazing.

 

[Marctrees]

If his bill is 9X your's maybe he should check for leaking toilets !!

Seriously, or maybe anywhere in his system actually.

Marc

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Sorry for the confusion. The $35 example is simply the flat charge for the infrastructure supply and upkeep of the equipment and piping of the water. This includes processing both the potable and sewage streams. When a new sewage treatment plant was constructed here was an additional levy.

 

[Bruce 993 SEA]

It is a good idea to once in a while take a look at the meter to make sure the little spinner is not spinning. Quick way to spot a leak.

 

[snyder]

We treat our toilets with stabill, the ethanol can eat the rubber too.

 

[Marctrees]

We treat our toilets with stabill, the ethanol can eat the rubber too.

Why ?

Marc

 

[Sparkyjack]

My wife has found the appearance of the inside of the toilet tanks and thinks it’s a health risk, so she has decided that each toilet needs a bleach tablet to improve the appearance.
The deterioration of flappers does not bother me much, I keep several on hand and can replace them easily (hmm maybe I should teach her to do that task, it might change her ‘tude about bleach tabs) the rubber seals for the tank to bowl, that’s a different concern.
I’m glad she does not look at other places where water is stored like the water heater, well pipe etc as I’m sure she’d decide those are also unacceptable and need cleaning.

Thinking about her changing flappers that will never happen as she does not change the toilet paper roll let alone provide a backup when the primary is nearing empty.

I’m gonna kick the bleach out tonight.

Jack

 

[larry4406]

What type pf Septic?

We are on a Aerobic system and were told to keep things like Chemicals down to a minimum and they can adversely affect the bacteria in the system. We were told specifically not to use things like Anti-bacterial soaps and toilet treatments like the stick on or in tank cleaners. Cleaning your toilet once a week with a cleaner is a lot less in the septic than every single flush.

Hub

The septic contractor that does our installs for the builder I work for said - its the "rule of 3 P's" - pee, poo, and paper, if it doesn't go in your mouth it doesn't go down the septic (not that one eats paper..). We advise customers to stay away from the anti-bacterial soaps as well and to avoid granular soaps (washer detergent, dishwasher, etc) as some of those do not go into solution very well.