The next day, I went downstairs to check the water meter. Nothing was running, except for the meter. A hundredth of a gallon would tick off about every 6 seconds. I did “the math.” For 3 months that was over 13,000 gallons leaking from one toilet. That was approximately how much was the difference in usage from the previous 3 months. DAMN!
I did not waste any time that day. Even though I was convinced it was NOT the fill valve, I went to the hardware store and picked up a new fill valve and a tank rubber seal, (just in case).
(Don’t ask me why I bought the same type of fill valve. I have these on all the toilets. The valve does not require a float and can adjust the water height with a turn of a knob.) When I got home, I immediately replaced the buzzing fill valve with a new one. I listen carefully for a sound. No buzzing did not mean no leak. I went downstairs and shined a light on the meter. No change. That display was still ticking .01 gallons. Well 15 dollars later, touché, Efiwym. I won that argument. However, without admitting she was wrong, she fired back, “Are you going to return it.” Nope, too much work to get it installed. IT is staying.
I now changed directions and looked at the rubber tank seal. I removed the old one, which looked fine and replaced it with the new one. I turned the water back on and waited until the tank was full. Tinkle, tinkle. I have not heard that sound in a while. The new seal did not work. From my experience from the master bathroom toilet, I tried two seals. And I did. After I filled up the tank, I went to check the water meter. With the flashlight shining on the meter, I watched for 2-3 minutes, and the number did not change. Back upstairs, I flushed the toilet several times and listened for “the sound.” No tinkling going on. Back to checking the meter. No movement. I solved the problem. No more 13,000 gallons of water wasted…
The next day, Efiwym, my wife, let me know the toilet was still leaking. She needed to jiggle the handle a couple of times to stop the leak. I knew we had that initial problem with the master bathroom “double seal solution.” It eventually went away. However, this time it did not. After several days, the water meter was moving, and the blue tablet test verified the leak. I threw up my hands and decided it was time to replace the toilet. I got the “I told you so,” look from Efiwym. as I try to explain my believe that toilets do not “go bad.” Nonetheless, I was done fixing toilets and if the one in the master bathroom started acting up again, it would also meet its demise.