Toilet Repair in Portland, OR
Running, leaking, rocking or weak flush. Try the free checks below, and if you still need us, you'll know the price first.
Free Checks to Try Before You Call
Plenty of toilet problems are a worn part inside the tank, and a few minutes with the lid off will tell you a lot. If one of these fixes it, great, you don't need us.
- Running or refilling on its own: put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait 15 minutes without flushing. Color in the bowl means the flapper is leaking. If the water is pouring into the tall overflow tube instead, the fill valve is set too high.
- Weak flush: check that the chain has a little slack, not a lot, and that the tank fills to the line marked inside it.
- Slow or no refill: make sure the supply valve behind the toilet is fully open.
- Gurgling or a clog: one plunging session with a flange plunger is fair game. If the tub or shower drain also gurgles or backs up when you flush, stop, because that points to the sewer line.
Leave it for a plumber if the tank or bowl is cracked, water seeps from the base, the toilet rocks, or a supply valve won't turn without force. Old valves can snap, and then a small leak becomes a flooded floor. If a fix doesn't work, shut the valve, take a photo of what you see, and send it to us.
What Each Toilet Problem Usually Means
The symptom usually tells you where to look. A toilet that runs or refills by itself is almost always the flapper, the fill valve or the flush valve seat. A weak flush can be a short chain, a low water level or mineral buildup in the rim holes. Water around the base usually means the wax ring has failed, often because the toilet started rocking. A drip from the back of the tank points to the supply line, the tank bolts or the gasket between tank and bowl.
Some signs mean the job reaches past a part swap. A floor that feels soft next to the toilet means water has likely been getting into the subfloor, and a new wax ring won't seal on it. A brown ring or bubbling paint on the ceiling below an upstairs bathroom points to a slow leak at the base. A toilet that still rocks with snug bolts often has a cracked or low flange, which can happen after new flooring raises the floor around it. Rusted floor bolts can snap when loosened, which turns a short visit into a longer one.
Repair It or Replace It
If the toilet flushes well, the porcelain is sound and one or two parts are worn, repair it. If it's cracked, has needed part after part, or never flushed well to begin with, a new toilet often makes more sense than paying to keep an old one going. A damaged subfloor has to be fixed either way. Under Portland's residential plumbing permit rules, fixing an existing toilet doesn't need a permit, but replacing one does. If replacement is the better call, we'll say so and price the new toilet installation too.
We fix what you called about. If we pull a toilet and find a broken flange or soft wood, we stop and show you before doing anything more, explain the options in plain language, and you decide.
How Toilet Repair Is Priced
You get one price before work starts, and that's the price at the end of the job. Many toilet problems can be priced from photos before we come out. These help most:
- The whole toilet and the floor around the base
- Inside the tank with the lid off
- The supply valve and line on the wall
- A short video if it's running, rocking or leaking
- The ceiling below, if the bathroom is upstairs
What moves the price is how far the job reaches. A flapper or fill valve inside the tank is a short job. Pulling the toilet for a wax ring takes longer, and a broken flange, soft subfloor, snapped bolts or a stuck shutoff valve add more. Whoever you call, ask whether there's a fee to come out, whether the price covers the whole job and parts, and whether they'll stop and tell you before doing extra work.
Military members, first responders and seniors get 10% off. We answer the phone 24/7, so a toilet that overflows on a Sunday night still gets a person on the line.
What to Expect at the Visit and How to Check the Fix
Clear the tank lid and the floor around the toilet, keep pets out of the bathroom, and if water was leaking, leave the valve off with a towel down. A repair inside the tank means draining it, swapping the worn part, and setting the water level and chain so it flushes strong and stops filling when it should. Pulling the toilet means draining it, lifting it straight up, scraping the old wax, and checking the flange and floor before it goes back down level on a new wax ring and bolts.
After we leave, take two minutes to check the work. Flush a few times and listen for the tank to go quiet. Sit down and shift your weight, since the toilet shouldn't move at all. Run a dry hand around the base and under the supply nut, then check again the next morning and repeat the food coloring test a day later. If something doesn't look right, call us so we can come back and look. Wild Pine Plumbing works under Oregon CCB #249970, and you can find more of our Portland home plumbing repairs on our main page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about toilet repair in Portland
Can I still use the toilet while I wait for a repair?
Usually, if it's only running or flushing weakly. If water is leaking onto the floor, shut the supply valve behind the toilet first and use another bathroom. If several drains back up at once, stop using water in the house, because that points to the main sewer line, not the toilet.
Do I need a permit to repair a toilet in Portland?
Not for fixing or maintaining existing parts. Portland Permitting & Development says repairs to existing fixtures don't need a plumbing permit, while installing or replacing a fixture such as a toilet does.
Why does my toilet keep running after I replaced the flapper?
The ring the flapper seals against, called the flush valve seat, may be worn or pitted, or the fill valve may be set too high so water spills into the overflow tube. Check the water level against the line inside the tank first. If both look right, the flush valve itself may need replacing.
Get a Toilet Repair Price Before We Start
Call (503) 594-4779, day or night. If water is on the floor, turn the valve behind the toilet clockwise to stop it first.
Ask about our 10% discount for Military, First Responders & Seniors.