Your Flush Valve Chain and You

a fellow I once knew used to have problems with the plumbing in his rambling Hartford home.  Specifically, his toilet never seemed to work.

Casual visits were often complicated by the dang thing’s refusal to work properly, after which I would open the tank to find a rigged chain that was almost, but not quite, holding the flush valve where it should be.

This Yale graduate was too proud to call in the local Hartford plumbers for help, and preferred to do his own fixes, but you could tell he wasn’t paying attention to his work: the patchwork fixes never seemed to quite work, and the flush valve leaked constantly while failing to clear the bowl, to the distress of occasional users.

It might look easy to get the right tension on a flush valve chain, or replace the worn out stopper, but sometimes, a clothes hanger just doesn’t get the right balance, and it’s time to let Hartford plumbing outfits take care of the job, as my well-educated colleague eventually found out.  When he got married a second time, his new wife put an end to that foolishness, and quickly called up the best local Hartford plumber to get everything in perfect shape.

That’s not to say that you can’t repair the stuff yourself, only that if it’s not in your heart to really pay attention to what’s going on inside your tank, it’s best to let the pros provide a quick solution.  My memories of that old row house are a completely true testament to how thoroughly annoying it can be to just scrape by on minimal repairs and always have to do the same tedious tasks over again.  Sometimes, even though it might cost a few dollars, a once and done repair is best, regardless of how smart you are at non-plumbing solutions.