Weird toilet flapper issue.

[Big Bad Dad]

Hey guys, this ain't in my garage, but I thought maybe somebody on here with experience can help figure this out. I replaced a leaking flapper about a month ago. The toilet is a spare bathroom and only gets flushed a few times a week. The replacement flapper is a red Fluidmaster that I purchased at Ace Hardware. I noticed today that the toilet was trickling again today. I found that there is an area on the perimeter of the new flapper that appears to be rotten or something. That area is distorted, and the edge in the area now has serrations. (Kind of looks like an old style metal bottle cap.) The home is on a well in an area that has high calcium content in the limestone bedrock. There is a water softener if that makes any difference. Any of you guys ever seen this, and/or know what caused it? Thanks

 

[nadogail]

I would spend about $20 and buy a complete Fluid Master Flusher Fixer Kit, it replaces all the internal wet parts. I keep one in my service truck.

 

[Old Man Roger]

You don’t use that blue disk toilet cleaner stuff do you? I’ve seen that distort some rubber parts.

 

[mrb1]

Maybe "dry-rotted" and deformed from sitting on the shelf for a long time at Ace? Go back and show them, might just exchange it. If not..tell them to "Stifle It" . Very hard well water here (with a softener) and maybe change them every 10 years or so?

 

[Big Bad Dad]

You don’t use that blue disk toilet cleaner stuff do you? I’ve seen that distort some rubber parts.

There is a disc in the toilet tank. It's white, but looks to be partly dissolved away. It may have been one of the blue things. I will take it out. Thanks

 

[Bucko]

Was the disk added after replacing the flapper? Could of settled right on top of it and not flushed for a while and had a chemical reaction with the rubber.

I had a toilet that had a slow leak at the flapper and tried 3 different flappers before finally pulling the tank and putting a new complete unit in and the leak stopped.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Was the disk added after replacing the flapper? Could of settled right on top of it and not flushed for a while and had a chemical reaction with the rubber.

I had a toilet that had a slow leak at the flapper and tried 3 different flappers before finally pulling the tank and putting a new complete unit in and the leak stopped.

The disc was already there.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Those disk things are rough on rubber and plastic parts under normal use, even worse on a toilette that gets little use.

 

[redmondjp]

My dad owned rental units when I was growing up. It was my job to fix toilets. One renter across the street had the tank flush valve (pre-flapper days) fail every few years and I had to replace it. It was a bachelor living there that didn't like to clean. He used that in-the-tank solid (tidy bowl), and that chemical ate the rubber parts very quickly. None of our other rentals had this issue.

 

[carbleaks]

There is a disc in the toilet tank. It's white, but looks to be partly dissolved away. It may have been one of the blue things. I will take it out. Thanks

I've had this happen before with some white ones that advertised having bleach in them I got during the pandemic. Haven't had the issue with blue ones before or since.

 

[yeldogt]

I agree .... the toilet pucks can be a strong oxidizer.

IMO the best replacements are the Korky ... Most of the OE Kohler seem to be Korky. They hold up

 

[slowtwitch73]

That red material (maybe others) turns to Jello after a bunch of years. I pulled a couple out that were just slimy...

 

[duneslider]

Bleach will mess up some flappers. Those white discs are full of bleach/chlorine. There are brands that advertise safe for use with chlorine or bleach. I had to replace all of them in my new house after less than 6 months. The new ones I bought have been doing fine for longer than that now.