Most toilet calls are a worn part, not a worn-out toilet. Here’s what each symptom usually means, and when to replace instead.
The toilet keeps running
A toilet that runs, hisses or flushes by itself at night has a tank part that stopped sealing: usually the flapper, sometimes the fill valve, the float or a caught chain. EPA says a worn flapper can make a toilet “flush on its own or silently leak thousands of gallons a year,” and recommends replacing it at least every five years. If it still runs after a new flapper, the flush-valve seat is usually pitted or scaled, or the water level sits above the overflow tube.
Houston is hard on flappers. The City’s 2025 water quality report puts the main system at about 135.5 mg/L of hardness. Fluidmaster says hard-water deposits build up on flappers, that they usually last three to five years, and that drop-in bleach tablets very often damage them. We replace the flapper or fill valve, or rebuild the tank when every part is the same age, then set the water level and watch a few flushes. Not sure it’s leaking? EPA’s dye test is in the questions below.
Water around the base, or a toilet that rocks
Water at the base has four usual causes: a failed wax seal; closet bolts that worked loose, so the toilet rocks and grinds the seal; a supply line or shutoff dripping behind the tank; or condensation off a cold tank in a humid bathroom. Water that appears only after a flush, from the back of the bowl, is usually the tank-to-bowl gasket or bolts, not the floor seal.
For a floor-seal leak we shut off the water, lift the toilet off, and check the flange and the floor underneath. It goes back on a new seal with new bolts and a new supply line; Fluidmaster recommends replacing a supply connector that’s worn or over five years old. If the floor is soft or the flange is broken, we tell you before we reset anything.
Weak flush, double flush, or a tank that won’t fill
Hard-water scale closes up the rim jets under the bowl’s edge and the fill valve, so the bowl gets less water, less fast. Fluidmaster suggests vinegar and a soft brush for calcium on the valve; past a point, a new valve is the fix. A slow-filling tank can also be a shutoff that isn’t fully open or a kinked supply line. If the bowl itself fills up and drains slowly, or backs up, that’s a drain problem rather than a toilet problem, and our drain cleaning page covers it.
Repair it or replace it?
Repair when the tank and bowl are sound and the problem is a part. Replace when the porcelain is cracked, when the same toilet needs a repair every year, or when it’s an old high-volume model.
EPA says older toilets use as much as six gallons per flush, and WaterSense toilets 1.28 or less. A swap saves nearly 13,000 gallons and more than $170 in water costs per home per year. Texas has required toilets sold in the state to average no more than 1.28 gallons per flush since January 1, 2014 (House Bill 2667), but that law doesn’t touch the old ones.
U.S. Census Bureau figures show about 40% of Houston’s housing was built between 1940 and 1979. We’ll tell you which group yours is in and price both options before you decide.
Toilet installation: what happens on the visit
We shut off the water, remove the old toilet, and check the flange and the floor. The new one goes on a fresh seal with new bolts and a new supply line. Then we fill it and flush it several times while we check the base and the connections for drips.
One-piece, two-piece, comfort height, elongated, dual flush: your technician can talk through the differences. If you’ve already bought a toilet, or want us to supply one, say so when you book, and ask about the old toilet at the same time. New toilets we install carry our 1-year labor warranty, separate from the manufacturer’s parts warranty.
After a leak: the City’s water-bill credit
If a leaking toilet ran up a City of Houston water bill, the City takes leak adjustment requests for water lost through what its form calls “an excusable defect in the customer’s water line.” The credit is 100% if the repair is made within 30 days, 75% within 60, 50% after that; the request is due within six months of the repair. Keep our invoice: a plumber’s bill is the proof, and the City decides what qualifies. Full steps are on our water leak repair page.
If it’s not the toilet
A bowl that rises or drains slowly is a clog, not a toilet fault: see drain cleaning. A wet ceiling or wall near the bathroom, or a bill that jumped with no visible water: start with the meter test on water leak repair. White crust that comes back on every fixture: water softener installation.
Who comes to your house
One of our own technicians: trained in our in-house Turbo Academy, and working under Ricky Mills’s Texas Responsible Master Plumber license. The company is insured. A small job gets the same written price and warranty paperwork as a big one. A recent toilet call nearby, from our job records: 77065, August 2026, a new braided toilet supply line, a new shut-off valve and a backflow preventer.
Sources: EPA WaterSense, tank-type toilets fact sheet (May 2024) · EPA WaterSense, Fix a Leak Week · Texas Legislature, HB 2667 (enrolled) · Fluidmaster, how often to replace a flapper · Fluidmaster, fill valve maintenance · City of Houston 2025 water quality report · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey · City of Houston, leak adjustment request. Checked November 2026.
