# Problem with my toilet

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-my-toilet/477971>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 19, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-my-toilet/477971 "2008-12-19T20:38:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-my-toilet/477971/1 "2008-12-19T20:38:24Z")

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Long story short, my toilet flushes, but it doesn’t refill. Well, it does, but only when I shut off the water and then turn it back on (the valve in the wall near the base of the toilet). Why is that? Is it broken? I don’t hear any leaks. I’m so grossed out by the toilet in general that i don’t want to go fishing around until I know what I’m looking for.

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**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-my-toilet/477971/2 "2008-12-19T20:46:15Z")

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The water in the holding tank is the same water you drink, unless of course you use Tidy Bowl. It’s clean, stick your hand in there and jiggle the ballcock (fill valve).

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-my-toilet/477971/3 "2008-12-19T20:57:38Z")

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> [@GaryM](#):
>
> stick your hand in there and jiggle the ballcock (fill valve).

See, now, that’s the dirtiest-_sounding_ thing in the toilet, anyway.

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-my-toilet/477971/4 "2008-12-19T21:06:51Z")

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You have something blocking the water supply. Most likely its in front of the valve and requires the valve to be taken off to remove the chunk of whatever.

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-my-toilet/477971/5 "2008-12-19T21:43:00Z")

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If there’s not an obstruction in the valve it could be that you have one of those “never overfills” valves, which have to be opened up juuuuuuuuuuust enough to let the water through but not too much that it stops itself.

I got one of these when I put in my toilet and it kept me boggled for a long while until I figured it out. You have to flush, see if it refills, open it a bit more if not, repeat, until it works.