Remember in Part 1 of “My Broken Toilet” series how at the end of the post I said I hoped Part 2 would also be “The End”? Well…it isn’t…so brace yourself for a Part 3 tomorrow.
After work today I went to Canadian Tire, again, to look at toilet plumbing repair stuff, again. Apparently this is what I do after work now for fun.
I found the identical flapper to the one I bought then started comparing the length and width of the arms on the flapper to other flappers, hoping to be able to find one slightly larger than the universal one I bought. My best guess for fixing the problem was a different flapper that could properly seal when closed. Well, that and the whole clean the inside of the tank with vinegar thing, but we’ll get to that.
The flappers are all in little plastic bags that are only see through in a small area near the bottom and the bags can’t be opened until bought so I was basically standing in the aisle, trying to maneuver flappers around inside their packaging until I could see the section I want, then try to get the same sections of two flappers that are inside two bags as close to each other as possible for comparison. It didn’t do much to help me with my decision. In the end I bought two and hoped one of them would work and that maybe I’d be able to return the other.
Once home I decided to clean the tank first so I poured the vinegar in the tank, making sure to pour it down the sides of the tank and then being the impatient soul that I am I immediately started scrubbing instead of waiting for the half hour the YouTube video said I should wait. In my defense, the tank can’t hold liquid, it has a leak, so I can’t leave the vinegar in there to soak, it’ll just leak out in to the bowl. Also, I didn’t want to be spending my whole night working on the toilet.
The vinegar did a pretty decent job. Makes me think if I had been able to let it soak in there it would have gotten the really stubborn parts clean also. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t shiny and new looking but it also isn’t as disgusting looking as it was prior to the vinegar wash. Or maybe I’m just getting used to the inside of a toilet tank…
After finishing the cleaning I removed the new but not sealing properly flapper and tried comparing that one to the ones in the packages, to see which of the new ones was a bit larger than the one I was holding. I started to wonder if I could get the old one that broke to fit again, after all the rubber chain on that one broke at the end, maybe I could just use it with the rubber chain part being a bit shorter. While trying to force the end of the rubber chain thing through the hole on the part of the handle mechanism that is inside the tank the handle mechanism snapped off…
Yes, you read that right. While trying to fix the flapper I broke the handle mechanism.
I just kinda stared at the piece that had broken off in to my hand, and did that stupid move where I held it to the part it broke off of like that would magically make them reattach.
Deciding I can only deal with one thing at a time I went back to the flapper problem. Eventually I just picked one since this whole comparing while they are in the bag thing was really getting me nowhere and lo and behold, my first bit of luck with this project happened, the new flapper sealed, the tank was holding water, and there were no ripples in the bowl.
A toilet miracle!
So now I have a working flapper with nothing to attach the chain to because oh yeah, I broke that piece off.
I have dismantled the entire handle mechanism and put it in a plastic bag to take with me when I go to Canadian Tire tomorrow after work so I have a hopefully better than slim chance of buying a handle that will fit so I won’t be going back a fourth time.
Though at this point I’m becoming a regular there, I might feel lost if I have a day this week where I don’t have to make a trip there after work. I mean, what did I do with all my time in the evenings when I wasn’t trying to fix a toilet? It’s been so long since this project started I just can’t quite recall…oh the fading memories!
Too dramatic? Yeah, ok, too dramatic. 😉
The Amazing Shrinking Woman 
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