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Why can I hear dripping noise in toilet cistern?

I can hear a dripping sound in my toilet. The sound is coming from the cistern. The water is not leaking into the bowl from the toilet rim. The water is also not leaking out from the bottom. I had a plumber come in a few times to replace the inlet valve and install a new flush cone and seals (as the old rubber seal had worn out). However after all this, I can still hear a dripping noise, although less frequent and not as loud as before. Is it normal to hear this sound? Does the outlet valve need to be replaced? If so, is it possible to replace myself if I can buy a replacement outlet valve? I have a close coupled cistern, so am not sure whether I have to remove the cistern from the bowl. I've attached a photo of the outlet valve.

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Jewelleryrescue

Hi @knickknack24

Just to confirm no its not normal to hear dripping please dont remove cistern from the bowl as that wont make dripping sounds.

Is it like water dripping into water or water onto a surface?

Any dripping must come from above the water line in the cistern And a plumber replaced the inlet. ok Maybe its the silver inlet hose connecting to the valve inlet. Does it drip often so you can watch for ripples in the cistern?

Could it be the outlet uumm possibly if it is water onto a surface sound.

If you hired the plumber to complete a task his work should be under a warranty.

Dripping is very annoying especially at the dead of night.

Hi @knickknack24 Maybe its not your toilet? can you put a container under your taps and see if you collect any water else where.

knickknack24

Thanks @Jewelleryrescue for your response. It is water dripping into water. There is no water dripping from the inlet hose creating ripples. The sound seems to be coming from the outlet valve area. The inlet valve occasionally hisses randomly so I suspect water is leaking from the cistern into the bowl and eventually needs to be topped up via the inlet valve. The plumber warranty covers the things done so far, but not "new" works. It's been trial and error with them, and quotes seem pricey, so would prefer to DIY if I can.

EricL

Hello @knickknack24

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your toilet cistern.

One quick test you can try is to turn off the cistern tap. Once the tap is off there should be no dripping from your toilet. But if you still hear dripping after a few hours then the flushing valve seal must not be sitting properly and is letting water through.

If you turn on the cistern tap, and the dripping begins again odds are the inlet valve seal is not sitting properly or there is too much water pressure coming from the cistern tap and is forcing it open. Unfortunately, the only way to repair it is to get a plumber to inspect the pressure coming out of the tap.

My only other suggestion is to ask your plumber to re-inspect the new seals that they have installed and tell them that you can hear dripping during the night.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Jewelleryrescue

Hi @knickknack24

I strongly suggest you get a new plumber A toilet not that complicated and it sounds like they havnt fixed anything after 2 visits

@EricL s advise will help you track it down.

But the hissing is water valve topping up a water leak into the bowl most likly. Sounds like two faults at once.

knickknack24

Thanks @EricL and @Jewelleryrescue. The dripping noise is still there after turning off the cistern tap, so it may be a flushing valve issue. Good point about the water pressure as well. I'll get someone else to take a closer look at both.

Albertkr1183

Hey I have exactly the same problem and I can occasionally hear the hissing sound from the inlet valve. I can confirm that the noise is from the dripping water hitting the hard surface. I can also see the flowing water into the toilet bowl.

Have you found the solution?

EricL

Hello @Albertkr1183

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us.

Let me tag @knickknack24 to make them aware of your question. In you particular case if you hear a hissing sound from your toilet, it means that the inlet valve seal has worn down and the seal needs to be replaced. If after replacing the seal and you still hear the hissing sound, odds are the inlet valve will need to be replaced. The reason for its replacement is that the inlet valves seat has deteriorated and even with a new seal it won't shut off anymore.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Albertkr1183

Hi @EricL

As @knickknack24 suggested, the hissing sound might come from the inlet valve filling the water into the tank as the tank is losing the water constantly. My dripping water sound gets very fast occasionally and i can see the flowing of water into the toilet bowl. Could it be the outlet valve seal that is faulty?

On top of that, I also cannot understand what you meant in your response. It seems like you mention inlet valve repetitively. "If after replacing the inlet valve and you still hear the hissing sound, odds are the inlet valve will need to be replaced" and "Inlet valve has deteriorated the inlet valve"?

EricL

Hi @Albertkr1183

My apologies for that. What I meant to say is that the seal or washer on the inlet valve may need to be replaced. However, if you’re still hearing a hissing sound, it could indicate that the valve seat has worn down, which would require replacing the entire inlet valve. I hope that clears things up. If you can share a photo of the inside of your cistern, I can take a look and help suggest any parts you might need for the repair.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Albertkr1183

Hi @EricL,

I think I found the where the dripping sound comes from. It is indeed a water hit water sound. The water drips from the tank to the pool of water in the nose of the toilet bowl.

I am still unsure what the culprit is. It's likely to be the outlet valve washer. It looks worn out though since it has so many bubbles on it.

What do you reckon?

EricL

Hi @Albertkr1183

I agree, it looks like the seating washer has deteriorated and is allowing water to pass through because of the bubbles. I recommend bringing the old washer with you to the store so that you can compare it the new seating washer you'll be getting. This is just to make sure they are the same size.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

Albertkr1183

I got this washer from Bunnings. It has the same size and thickness but it failed to do the job. It says it fits Geberit, and my washer brand is Geberit and the toilet brand is Watermark.

The water flowed faster down the toilet bowl once I changed to this washer.

Could you suggest how to find out which washer that fits to my outlet valve, @EricL ?

JacobZ

Hi @Albertkr1183,

If the dimensions are the same as the existing one, which worked before wearing out and allowing a leak, then it should work.

There's a chance that it is not sitting correctly or that there is some debris allowing water through.

Do you have a photo of the seating washer installed?

There's also a chance that the valve itself is failing, which would mean you might need to replace the outlet valve altogether.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

Albertkr1183

Hi @JacobZ,

The size is the same to my observation and the product shows that it's for Geberit. Unsure why it failed. The installation to the outlet valve was super easy. I doubt that I failed to reseat it properly.

I immediately returned it to Bunnings and went to Reece to ask for the suitable washer for a Geberit outlet valve. They gave me one and it did the job perfectly. No issues anymore.

Thank you for your advice @EricL and @JacobZ for leading me to the root cause of the problem.

EricL

Hello @Albertkr1183

Thank you for the update. It's good to hear that you've sorted out the leak in your toilet.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

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