Tried to replace a toilet flapper and ended up flooding my bathroom for 2 hours

So I figured swapping out a $8 flapper would be a quick 15 minute job (famous last words, right?). I got the old one off fine, but when I put the new one on and turned the water back on, water just kept running. I messed with the chain length, adjusted the float, nothing helped. Turns out I had the flapper seated wrong on the overflow tube - it was all twisted. By the time I figured it out, I had mopped up about 5 gallons off the floor. Has anyone else had a simple fix turn into a disaster like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

emeryj667d ago

Honestly I watched a guy on YouTube say the same thing happened to him and he just swore by putting the new flapper on and testing it with the water off first before turning it back on. Saved me a headache when I did mine last month.

evahenderson7d ago

emeryj66, that "test it with the water off first" part is something I've never seen anyone mention before. But here's what I keep wondering - if your toilet's old and the water valve's all rusty like mine was, how are you even supposed to shut it off without breaking something? I had to replace the whole shutoff valve just to get the water off, and that turned into a whole other plumbing project nobody talks about. People focus on the flapper but forget the valve might be the real problem waiting to surprise you.