If your toilet starts to whistle, you need to do this immediately

Reading this article and acting on its contents could save you hundreds or even thousands of pounds and a whole heap of unnecessary trouble. The subject of this brief article is something that many of us will never have thought about but is vitally important.

It might sound strange, even a bit comical, to think of a toilet whistling, but trust us, it’s not auditioning for a spot in the plumbing symphony. This quirky sound is your toilet’s way of saying, ‘Help me before it’s too late! You need to deal with it immediately!

If not you’ll not only not have a functioning toilet, you could have a potentially flooded home too. Keep reading to find out what a whistling toilet means and how you can fix it.

What Causes A Toilet To Whistle?

The most common cause of a whistling toilet is a damaged or worn fill valve or gasket. To understand what the problem is, you’ll need to learn more about what the fill valve is and the role it plays in your toilet cistern.

As soon as you flush your toilet the cistern begins to refill with water ready for the next flush. If there wasn’t something to check the flow of water it would keep filling until it overflowed all over your bathroom floor and beyond (which is why it could cost thousands in damage if not dealt with).

Fill Valve

The part that stops the water from continuously flowing is the fill valve. The fill valve is connected to the float assembly, which is a fancy name for that big ball in your cistern (they’re usually, but not always orange).

What happens is that as the water level in the cistern rises, so does that large ball until it reaches a set point. Once it gets to that point, it closes the fill valve which prevents any more water from entering the cistern.

Once the toilet is flushed, the ball assembly drops and the fill valve opens again allowing water to fill the cistern once again. 

So, What About The Whistle?

If you live in a hard water area (and more than 60% of UK residents do), there will be calcium and other minerals in the water. Over time those mineral deposits will accumulate around the fill valve and cause it to whistle before eventually stopping it functioning altogether. 

You seriously need to tackle this before the fill valve gives up, unless, of course, you’ve been dreaming of an indoor pool, complete with soggy carpets and a skyrocketing water bill.

The Quickest & Simplest Way To Fix A Whistling Toilet

Fixing a whistling toilet is a simple task that pretty much anyone can do. 

You will need;

• A Replacement Fill Valve
• A Flat Headed Screwdriver

What you need to do;

1. Cut Off The Water Supply To The Cistern
   The easiest way to cut off the water supply to your cistern is to locate the inlet pipe underneath. Don’t worry, you don’t need to go full detective mode, this isn’t a plumbing escape room. There should be a screw that you need to turn into the horizontal position using the flat headed screwdriver. If your cistern doesn’t have its own shut off valve you’ll need to find the home stopcock (which is typically found under the sink) and turn it off.
2. Flush The Toilet
   Once the water supply has been shut off, Flush the toilet to empty the cistern, because nobody wants to wrestle with water while doing some DIY plumbing kung fu. Don’t worry about a slight puddle at the bottom of the cistern as this is normal and won’t affect your work.
3. Take The Old Fill Valve Off The Toilet
   Locate the fill valve and unscrew the plastic nut directly underneath it. That will release the old fill valve which can then be taken off.
4. Replace The Fill Valve
   Pop the new fill valve in place and screw the plastic nut that you unscrewed earlier tight.
5. Check The Fill Level
   Check the level of the water once the cistern fills up again by lifting the arm of the float and seeing where it stops. If you accidentally caught any stray parts when removing or refitting the fill valve, you might need to adjust things but usually the fill valve and float will still be set up correctly.
6. Reconnect The Water Supply
   Turn the water back on by turning the screw to the vertical position on the inlet pipe or turning the stopcock back to the open position.
7. Check Your Work
   Once you’ve turned the water back on, watch the cistern fill up and listen. There should be no more whistling and the water should fill to a level that allows a decent flush without overflowing.
8. Pat Yourself On The Back
   You did it! Not only have you vanquished the whistling menace, but you’ve also dodged the dreaded plumber’s bill. Hero status unlocked!

What If It Wasn’t The Fill Valve That Caused The Whistle?

If, when you removed the cistern lid there was no calcium buildup around the fill valve and when flushed the whistling came from somewhere else, you need to look elsewhere. The only other likely cause of this problem is the fill pipe to the cistern.

Over time the fill pipe can become clogged or part clogged with that calcium we talked about earlier. Now, this one’s a bit trickier. If you’re confident in your DIY skills, or just enjoy living life on the edge, grab a wrench and give it a go. We’ll talk you through it anyway.

If you decide to give this a go, you will need to turn off the water supply by the stopcock. Then you need to grab a pipe wrench and remove the old pipe. Once the pipe has been removed you can either try to remove the calcium from the old pipe or replace it with a new one.

Sometimes the new pipe might not be exactly the right shape or length and you might need to cut it or bend it into the correct shape. This is why we suggest getting a plumber to fit a new fill pipe for you.

If you’re determined to be a DIY plumbing hero, you can get a flexi-pipe which will bend into whatever shape you need. Think of it as plumbing’s answer to a Swiss Army knife. Flexi-pipes have a connector at both ends and the pipe in between is flexible. That means once it’s connected (using a wrench) you can shape it anyway you need to.

In Our Opinion…

If the whistling on your toilet is caused by the fill valve, we would recommend replacing it yourself. It’s a simple enough job and almost anyone could do it. If it’s the fill pipe causing the problem, it might be time to call in the pros. 

Sometimes, it’s okay to admit defeat, especially if it saves you from spending a weekend wrestling with a stubborn pipe.

Your Turn

Is your toilet serenading you with a whistle? Have you bravely tackled a fill valve swap and lived to tell the tale? Share your victories (or plumbing war stories) in the comments below! 

And while you’re at it, share this article with anyone you think might need to hear it.

SEE ALSO: 12 Washing Mistakes That Make Clothes Look Old Fast

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