Your toilet is a simple, relatively straightforward device. Knowing how the various parts work and how to repair them will ...

Cleaning your toilet tank often helps to prevent mold, rust, and mildew from developing that can discolor your tank's interior and lead to metal corrosion overtime from some of the tank's parts.

Those in-tank cleaning discs or tablets will also shorten the life of the working parts in your toilet, says Mark Collins, a fifth-generation plumber, and the CEO of 1-800-Plumber + Air ...

Before diagnosing and repairing your running toilet, you must understand how it works. First, a toilet has seven parts: the bowl, tank, handle, fill valve, overflow tube, flush valve and flapper.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN - The toilet replacement parts inside tank fits 3-inch plastic flush valves, compatible with American Standard and most toilet brands with 3-inch toilet tank valve opening.

The parts inside a standard toilet tank make it difficult to clean. The fill valve, overflow tube, flapper valve and flushing handle can get in the way of your cleaning efforts.

Ideally, the water level in the toilet tank should be 1 to 1.5 inches below the top of the overflow tube (also called an overflow pipe), an open-ended tube centrally located in the tank.

The toilet bowl and tank can last at least a decade. However, once you notice cracks or you see water seeping onto the floor, installing a new toilet is likely in your future.