Cistern adjustment in Exeter
Professional cistern adjustment services in Exeter and surrounding areas. Local, reliable handyman - no job too small.
Price Guide
£60
Typical Duration
15-20 mins
Location
Exeter, Devon
Toilet cistern adjusted so it fills to the right level and actually stops filling - no more running water, proper flush, lower water bills.
When Your Toilet Won't Shut Up
That constant trickle of running water. Been going on for weeks. You've learned to ignore it but your water meter hasn't.
Or the opposite - weak flush because the cistern's barely filling.
Simple adjustments fix both issues. Takes 15 minutes, saves you money on every water bill forever.
Common Cistern Problems
| Working Properly | What's Actually Happening |
|---|---|
| Fills, stops, silence | Keeps running after filling |
| Full cistern, strong flush | Low water, weak flush |
| Water stops at correct level | Overflows into bowl constantly |
| Fill valve shuts off | Fill valve stuck open/partially closed |
The Fix
🔧 For Running Toilets
- Check what's causing it (fill valve or flush valve)
- Adjust float height
- Check flush valve seals
- Bend float arm if needed
- Replace valve if adjustment won't fix it
📦 For Weak Flush
- Check water level in cistern
- Adjust float upward
- Make sure fill valve opening fully
- Test flush strength
💡 You Get
- Toilet that fills and stops
- Proper flush
- Silent cistern
- Lower water bills
Pricing
| Job | Time | You'll Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Adjust cistern water level | 10 mins | £60 |
| Fix running toilet | 15-20 mins | £60 |
| Replace fill/flush valve | 20-30 mins | £60 + valve (£10-15) |
£60 minimum. Replacement valves are cheap if needed.
💡 Pro tip: A constantly running toilet can waste hundreds of litres a day. If your water's metered, this costs real money. Worth fixing immediately.
Why Choose Us for Cistern adjustment in Exeter?
Toilet fills properly and stops
No more constant running water
Water bill savings
15-minute fix for most issues
What to Expect
Step 1: Diagnose The Issue
Is it filling too much, too little, or not stopping? Different problems need different fixes.
Step 2: Adjust Or Replace
Most issues are fixed by adjusting the float height or bend of the float arm. Sometimes the valve itself has worn out and needs replacing.
Step 3: Test & Fine-Tune
Flush, watch it fill, make sure it stops at the right level. Flush again to check flush strength. Adjust until perfect.
🔧 DIY Tips
Cistern adjustments are definitely DIY-able if you're confident:
🔧 Tools you'll need
- Screwdriver
- Adjustable spanner (maybe)
- Towel for any spills
📐 Adjusting water level
For plastic float valves (modern):
- Lift lid off cistern
- Find adjustment screw on top of fill valve
- Turn clockwise = lower water level
- Turn anti-clockwise = higher water level
- Flush and test - should stop about 1 inch below overflow
For ball float (older style):
- Bend float arm gently
- Bend down = lower water level
- Bend up = higher water level
- Flush and test
Fixing running toilet:
- Check if water's reaching overflow - that's fill valve problem
- If bowl constantly filling but cistern not - that's flush valve
- For fill valve: adjust float down or replace valve
- For flush valve: check seal isn't damaged, replace if worn
⚠️ Common DIY mistakes
- Bending float arm too far (breaks it)
- Setting level too high (water goes down overflow)
- Not turning isolation valve back on after
- Forgetting to test multiple flushes
- Replacing valve without turning water off (flood!)
💡 Pro trick: Put food coloring in the cistern (not the bowl). Wait 10 minutes without flushing. If colour appears in the bowl, your flush valve's leaking - replace it.
Rather leave it to a pro? No problem - that's what I'm here for. Give me a call.
Good to Know
🎨 Multiple toilet issues? While I'm fixing one cistern, might be worth checking the others. Toilet mechanisms all fail around the same time if they were fitted together.
Old toilet mechanisms - if your toilet's 20+ years old and the valves are gunked up with limescale, sometimes replacing the whole mechanism is easier than adjusting worn parts. I'll advise honestly.
Exeter's hard water - Devon has some areas with harder water that causes limescale buildup on float valves. This can stick them open. Sometimes needs descaling or replacing.
Dual-flush toilets - these have more complex mechanisms. Still adjustable, but takes a bit longer to work out what's wrong.
Water company rebates - if you're on a meter and your toilet's been running for ages, some water companies will give rebates for the wasted water once you prove it's fixed. Worth asking.
Toilet keeps refilling randomly - that's usually a slow leak from flush valve that you can't see. Wastes loads of water. Replacing the flush valve seal usually fixes it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my toilet keep running after flushing?
Usually the float valve isn't shutting off when the cistern's full, or the flush valve at the bottom isn't sealing properly so water's constantly dribbling into the bowl. Both are adjustable/fixable. Sometimes it's as simple as bending the float arm.
My toilet barely flushes - not enough water in the cistern?
Probably yes. The water level's set too low - either the float valve's adjusted wrong or the float itself has issues. Easy adjustment. Should fill to about an inch below the overflow pipe.
Will you need to turn the water off?
Briefly, yeah. There should be an isolation valve on the pipe feeding the cistern - I'll turn that off while adjusting things. If there isn't one (common in older houses), I might need to turn your mains off for 10 minutes.
Is this something I need a plumber for?
Not really - cistern adjustments are pretty straightforward. Plumbers charge more than I do for this. But if the actual valve needs replacing (worn out rather than mis-adjusted), that's still a simple job I can do.
My cistern's constantly overflowing into the bowl - is that serious?
Annoying and wasteful, but not dangerous. Water's either not shutting off when it should (fill valve issue) or the flush valve's not sealing (letting water constantly leak into bowl). Both fixable in 15 minutes usually.
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