A toilet is a very important part of a bathroom in your house. In today’s world, a house is not considered complete without a bathroom. Similarly a bathroom is incomplete without a toilet. A toilet is a facility that provides hygiene services for people.
A toilet has a positive impact on a person’s health by letting people disposing of waste properly. The proper disposal of waste helps to minimize the level of contamination from the environment and therefore has a positive impact on the people and surroundings.
What is a Toilet Tank?
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A toilet tank is the part of a toilet that is placed on the top of a toilet bowl. A tank is mounted on the top of the bowl because water is present inside the tank. Gravity mechanism is used to push that water towards the bowl for flushing.
The main purpose of a toilet tank is to push the water towards the bowl for flushing purpose. Water needs to be flowed with pressure towards the bowl to clean the waste properly. Water pressure in homes is not enough to do the flushing properly. Toilet tanks do this task properly to push the water towards the bowl with pressure.
Toilet Tank Mechanism
Parts of a toilet tank are divided into two categories according to the working mechanism.
Flush Mechanism:
Toilet tank parts that are related to the flush mechanism are tank lever, toilet flapper and flush valve.
Refill Mechanism:
Toilet tank parts that are related to the refill mechanism are fill valve, toilet float and refill tube.
12 Parts of Toilet Tank
Many parts of a toilet tank are very commonly available in the market. Many companies make toilet tank parts that not even make toilets. If you want to replace any part of your toilet tank, then you can easily get that part from the manufacturer from where you have bought the toilet.
If your toilet tank is not flushing properly, then it is a sign that some part or maybe the whole toilet tank needs replacement.
1: Tank Lever:
The flush lever is the handle that is placed on the side of the toilet tank. This lever is used to flush away all the waste. When you pull the lever, the flushing mechanism starts and water start flowing from the toilet tank towards the bowl.
Lever is usually used in a single flush toilet. A single flush toilet is the one that has the same flow of water for flushing every type of waste. The lever sometimes gets loose and it becomes difficult to operate.
In case of a dual flush toilet, there are push buttons on top of the toilet tank instead of a lever. There are two push buttons. One button is used when you want to flush way the liquid waste. In this case less amount of water comes down the bowl.
The other button is used to flush away the solid waste. This button lets more water flow down the toilet bowl from the toilet tank. There are two buttons that is why these are called dual flush toilets.
2: Tank Cover
The top cover of a toilet tank is a cover made from the same material that is used for making the toilet. This cover is placed on the top of toilet tank. It is placed to stop the dust and other irrelevant elements to go inside the toilet tank.
Sometimes the tank top cover falls off and breaks easily. In this case you have to go to the toilet manufacturer with model number of your toilet to get the exact cover as the previous one.
3: Tank Flapper
A flapper is a rubber seal that is present inside the toilet tank. It is used to start and stop the water flow going into the bowl from the tank. When you pull lever or press button on the toilet tank, this rubber seal pulls up and allows water to flow towards the bowl from the tank.
The purpose of a flapper is to stop the water flow or water movement towards the bowl when flushing mechanism is done. If you have running water coming in your toilet bowl, the first and main reason could be the flapper that needs replacement.
Replacing a flapper is a very easy task. You can even do it by yourself if you have a little knowledge and guidance.
4: Flapper Lift Chain
It is a thin chain that is used to link the flapper with the toilet lever. When you start the flushing mechanism this chain is lifted and the flapper is also lifted to allow the water flow towards the bowl. When you stop flushing, this chain lowers down and the flapper also lowers down to stop the flow of water towards the toilet bowl from the toilet tank.
The lift chain of a flapper should be placed correctly. A too loose chain can cause slow water pressure during flushing. While a too tight lift chain with the flapper can cause running water all the time in toilet bowl.
5: Flush Valve
Right under the toilet flapper is a toilet flush valve. It is 2 to 4 inches in diameter. The main function of a toilet flush valve is to allow the water to leave the tank and enter the bowl. It is present at the bottom of a toilet tank under the flapper.
If a flush valve breaks, then a leakage starts between a toilet tank and toilet bowl. Replacement of a flush valve is not easy because it requires the removal of the whole toilet tank first before it can be replaced or repaired.
6: Overflow Tube
An overflow toilet tube is a cylindrical tube that is present inside the toilet tank. It is placed in the center of a toilet tank. The main function of an overflow tube is to let the excess water flow towards the toilet bowl to prevent overflowing of the toilet tank.
The overflow tube is connected with the flush valve. It makes sure that excess water always flows down into the bowl to avoid flooding in the bathroom. The water should always be less than the top of the overflow tube.
7: Toilet Tank to Bowl Gasket
A toilet tank to bowl gasket is actually a rubber seal. It is present around the flush valve where the toilet tank is placed above the toilet bowl. It acts as a seal and stopper to prevent the leakage of water between the tank and the toilet bowl when the flushing mechanism activates.
If you notice a leakage between the tank and bowl, the also check if this rubber seal is in place or if it needs replacement. This seal is also known as spud washer.
8: Tank Bolts
In order to attach and fix the toilet tank with the toilet bowl, many types of washers are used. Tank bolts are also one of those nuts and steel washers. The main purpose of these bolts is to attach the toilet tank with the toilet bowl. They wore out with time. Therefore if you face any leakage between the tank and bowl, then focus on replacing these bolts along with the flush valve and the spud washers.
9: Fill Valve
A toilet fill valve is linked with the water supply line attached with the toilet. Its main function is to refill the toilet after every flush. A toilet fill valve is connected with the refill tube and toilet float. If your toilet does not fill or makes hissing noise, then this could be the sign of a faulty fill valve. A fill valve is very easy to replace. It is also cheap in price.
10: Float Ball
A toilet float ball is another toilet tank part. It is like a round plastic ball. It is attached with a plastic tube with the fill valve. It is used to open and close the fill valve. When the toilet is full and not in use, then the toilet float ball will be at the top inside the tank.
When toilet flushes and becomes empty, the ball floats down towards the bottom of toilet tank. This lets the fill valve to activate and start filling the water again. Float balls are usually found in older models of toilets.
11: Float Cup
A float cup is a modern type of a float ball. Its function is just like the function of float ball but a float cup is more efficient in working. It is used by many modern models of toilets. It lets the water filling mechanism to be more efficient by saving water consumption.
12: Refill Tube
A refill tube is a black narrow tube that is attached with the fill valve towards the overflow tube. When flushing mechanism activates, the refill tube sends some water into the bowl from the overflow tube. This water is the one that you always see at the bottom of your toilet bowl.
It prevents bad smells and gases from the sewer to enter into your bathroom. The refill tube must be attached with the overflow tube. In this way the water level in the toilet bowl will be maintained.
Wrap Up:
The above article has given enough information about the toilet tank parts to let you understand the mechanism, importance and working of a toilet tank.
