# Why has my toilet begun to moan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061 "2007-04-07T01:38:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/1 "2007-04-07T01:38:02Z")
My boyfriend says it’s me getting all fat. “Nooooo!” 😉 Lately, late in the flush, my toilet (just one of them) has begun moaning. It’s kind of creepy. There’s never been anything wrong with it before - why now, and what is it? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/2 "2007-04-07T02:37:25Z")
That moaning usually means that the washers inside your fill valve have gotten old and loose. The extra room lets the valve vibrate and makes wierd sounds before closing completely. Replacing worn fill valves is one of the services that boyfriends are supposed to provide. Don’t let him weasel out on this. If he’s never done it, he has to learn someday. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/3 "2007-04-07T03:36:08Z")
Perhaps the fixture feel _used_ and unappreciated. You know, putting up with crap all of the time. Perhaps it needs some understanding, and a hug. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/4 "2007-04-07T03:46:12Z")
If you live at Hogwarts, [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moaning_Myrtle) could be the cause of your problem. Seriously, **Squink** has given you a great answer. When we’ve had toilet moanage, replacing the fill valve fixed things. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/5 "2007-04-07T04:50:49Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Perhaps the fixture feel _used_ and unappreciated. **You know, putting up with crap all of the time.** Perhaps it needs some understanding, and a hug. [/QUOTE] Darn, you beat me to it! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/6 "2007-04-07T04:59:06Z")
Is the moan similar to, " yes, yes, yes, yes, Yes…!" Or is the moan similar to, “aw, another day, same old shit …”? Well? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/7 "2007-04-07T05:16:28Z")
Poltergeist! :eek: (I agree with Squink) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/8 "2007-04-07T06:49:07Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Perhaps the fixture feel _used_ and unappreciated. You know, putting up with crap all of the time. Perhaps it needs some understanding, and a hug. [/QUOTE] **Zsofia** , you just need to get good and drunk, then you’ll hug the toilet! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/9 "2007-04-07T11:18:53Z")
There is a Giant Fanged Eel coming up your toilet…_to **get** you!!!_ 😃 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/10 "2007-04-07T11:44:02Z")
If you or your boyfriend are, like me at a younger age, happily ignorant of what a toilet fill valve is or how to replace it, then here’s a website that explains it: [Replace Toilet Fill Valve](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_kitchen_bath_toilets/article/0,1797,HGTV_3752_1376477,00.html) ([hgtv.com](http://hgtv.com)) Plumbing jobs are a pain. It’s easy to replace something, but you have to make sure that after you’re done there are no leaks. If you have your boyfriend do it for you, I urge you to watch the steps so that you would know how to do it yourself if necessary. There is no reason that a member of the gentler, kinder sex would be incapable some simple plumbing repairs jobs when the necessity arises. Choosing not to do it yourself, of course, is perfectly understandable! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/11 "2007-04-07T13:07:22Z")
Forget him! It’s my house, and I fix toilets around here. (Well, I haven’t done it in this house, but I have once replaced a flapper in another house, and was going to replace the whole works only it got very… complicated.) I told him this morning it cried because it doesn’t like his moustache and it thinks his soul patch is pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/12 "2007-04-07T19:37:26Z")
More on the ghostly aspect 😉 You are not in a Japanese elementary school, so you are safe from [Hanako-san](http://tanutech.com/japan/hanako.html). And, I doubt your toilet is 100 years old, so you are safe [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukumogami) as well ^^ I think we can thus safely conclude your problems are earthly in origin 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/13 "2007-04-07T19:59:33Z")
It’s having a passionate affair with the sink? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/14 "2007-04-07T20:24:00Z")
Of the two, the toilet is far more handsome. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/15 "2007-04-08T01:35:13Z")
wouldn’t that be a “potty-giest”? FML ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/16 "2007-04-08T06:55:29Z")
You’re using the wrong side of the plunger! (You sick-o) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/17 "2007-04-08T07:10:12Z")
Just in case you havn’t done it yet, did you check to make sure the shut-off valve is still open? Sometimes, when they are by the base of the toilet, the valve handle can slowly get bumped by mopping and dogs chasing hairballs or whatever. Eventually it’s strangling the water flow, and makes kind of a moaning sound. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/18 "2007-04-08T10:07:40Z")
Its probably pissed off at being shat on all the time,I expect Id grumble a bit myself in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/19 "2007-04-08T11:12:26Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Its probably pissed off at being shat on all the time,I expect Id grumble a bit myself in that situation. [/QUOTE] [Sean Connery]I don’t undershtand: my shofa doesn’t moan, and I shit on it all the time[/Sean Connery] ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061/20 "2007-04-08T12:24:53Z")
On a more serious note, the toilet down in my grandmother’s basement (it’s in a little corner with a curtain around it), has this horrible, high-pitched moan when you flush it. When I was little, I was actually afraid of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-toilet-begun-to-moan/399061.md?page=2)