Recently, I had a customer call in and ask a few questions about the Toto fill valve they purchased from us to repair their toilet. He had an older Toto toilet that was taking way too long to fill. Usually when this happens, it’s because debris in the water line gets stuck in the fill valve and is restricting the flow of water. My customer ended up making a ton of work for himself by completely removing the toilet tank from the bowl to replace the fill valve. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but for this particular repair, you should have access to every part of the toilet without having to remove the tank. It may be a little challenging tightening the nut under the toilet tank on the shank of the fill valve, but a little persistence would have saved him a lot of time. I walked him through re-installing the tank, making sure that the tank to bowl gasket and the tank to bowl bolt were all nice and tight. After that, I was finally able to answer his question about how to adjust the height of the fill valve so there is enough water in the tank. Usually, the only time you need to remove the tank is when replacing the flush valve.
This customer smartly put a folded-up drop cloth on his
closed toilet seat, set the tank on top of that and did all the work he needed
to on the tank. This prevented him from scratching the
toilet seat while working. Being a Toto toilet, the model number
was stamped into the inside of the tank, which is how he figured out what fill
valve he needed as well as the
correct flapper for his toilet. I always recommend replacing the
flapper if you are replacing the fill valve. Every toilet should have its model
number on it, here are a few easy ways to find what model of toilet you have.
- Look inside the toilet tank. The model number is usually located on the inside of the toilet tank, either on the lid or on the tank itself. It might be printed or stamped in the porcelain.
- Look on the toilet bowl. The model number may also be located on the toilet bowl, usually near the base or the trap way.
- The toilet label is usually located on the back of the toilet, near the base. Not a lot of toilets have this label, but it is worth checking. The label will have the model number, manufacturer, date of manufacture, and warranty information.
- Contact the manufacturer. If you can't find the model number on your toilet, you can contact the manufacturer for help. They will be able to look up the model number for you based on the information you provide about your toilet.
Here are some additional tips for finding your toilet model number:
- Be sure to look in all the possible places listed above. The model number may be in any of the places described above depending on the make and model of your toilet.
- If you have a two-piece toilet, the tank and the bowl will have separate model numbers. Tanks and bowls always have separate model numbers even if the toilet you bought came as a set with both.
- If you still have trouble finding the model number, you can take a picture of your toilet and send it to us. We love toilets and are familiar with most of them from being in the biz for so long.
Once you have found the model number of your toilet, you can use it to find replacement parts.
