I've had my fill

Nothing says "I'm not paying attention to your circus" like doing some basic toilet repair.

I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. As a friend wrote this morning: 

"I’m trying to resist the pull of the constant stream of drama he elicits. For all the things that could be said about him, he is a master of the outrage machine, which whether it elicits adulation or hatred, serves to keep all the attention focused on him (and ultimately serves to profit him)."

So, yesterday I fixed the toilet (among other things).

We refer to it as "Jane's bathroom," but in reality it's the one off our bedroom ("My" bathroom is what's considered the main one - with the thinking that I have less 'stuff'... though I'm not sure that's the case). Anyway, the stool has had a slow drizzle of water into the bowl for some time. Like, I don't know, maybe six months, or more (I know). I did replace the flapper several months ago, but it didn't help (Ha! I searched my blog and discovered it was actually in 2016! LOL). Lately I've been doing a back-and-forth between trying to figure out what the problem is, and forgetting about it. It's usually most noticeable during the middle of the night when it will randomly start to make the faintest of sounds that undoubtedly keeps me from going to sleep.

Not only had I finally had my fill, but I noticed the fill valve was leaking also. Aha!

Over the last few days (okay, weeks) I'd taken pictures, been to Menards to do research, watched Youtube videos to do more research, and yesterday decided it was now time to tackle the trickle of terror!

First, I went to Menards and finally decided on the above pictured Fluidmaster Universal Toilet Fill Valve. I almost got a Korky, but couldn't decide between just the fill valve or the one that also included a new flapper, so I just went with the cheaper Fluidmaster instead ($8.99).

Next, I tried to shut off the water at the toilet valve, but it wouldn't budge. Rather than create a plumbing emergency, I opted to shut off the main valve. This wouldn't take that long (hopefully).

From there, replacing the fill valve was pretty quick and easy. I flushed the toilet, placed a bucket under the water inlet, and unscrewed the water supply to the bottom of the toilet tank. It was only hand tight. The fill valve nut sits right above it, so I unscrewed it as well, and pulled out the valve (which was the old kind with the giant float ball). I adjusted the height of the new valve by laying it beside the old one, and inserted it into the toilet tank, again just hand tightening the nut for the valve and the water supply. That was it. Took about 5 minutes.

Unfortunately... when I flushed the toilet... there was still a trickle. Dang! 

Well, wouldn't you know, what I thought was the flapper I'd just replaced a few months ago (how did I not know it was really over 8 years ago?) was rotted out too. So, back to Menards for a $6 Korky Plus 2" flapper. I thought maybe the "plus" would make it last longer*! 

I just left the water on to replace the flapper. I did notice, though, that not only was it somewhat corroded, but some of it had stuck to the pipe rim so it wasn't creating a tight seal. I cleaned that off just with my finger, and once the new flapper was on... IT WORKED!!!

And, there ya have it. I put a new toilet fill valve and flapper in the toilet off our bedroom. There was no cussing OR thoughts about the crazy train who took over the country. A win, win, win!

*Note: I think those bleach tablets you put in the toilet tank to keep the bowl clean are what caused the flappers to corrode. So, don't use those. This was corroborated by several Youtube repairmen.