Old supply line rubber seal disintegating

[Jechow]

Hello. I replaced my toilet but I didn't replace my old supply line. When I touched the rubber gasket, it was oily and when I filled the tank little black specks went into the tank. Is it common practice to replace the supply line or just the gasket? Can those little black specks clog the internal parts of your toilet? Thanks

 

[seann]

Hello. I replaced my toilet but I didn't replace my old supply line. When I touched the rubber gasket, it was oily and when I filled the tank little black specks went into the tank. Is it common practice to replace the supply line or just the gasket? Can those little black specks clog the internal parts of your toilet? Thanks

Yes, it's a good idea to just replace the supply line when ever you replace your toilet. Otherwise there is a high chance of the old supply line leaking. I wouldn't worry about the black rubber pieces clogging anything up. It will be fine. Worst possible case scenario, your fill valve could theoretically plug up with debris and then you would need to replace it ( which is fairly cheap and easy). But that would be almost impossible to have a fill valve clog from a little bit of supply line rubber washer fragments. There would have to be a Substantial amount of debris going into the fill valve before that would even be a possibility.
Another thing to consider as to why you should replace old supply lines when changing out an old fixture is for the same reason that you should always make sure your clothes washing machine supply lines are in good shape. An old hose or supply line has the possible risk of breaking or bursting if not in good shape, or after being disturbed after being not being touched in a long time, and sometimes a supply line or hose can just burst at any time if of cheap quality. Then you could have major flooding in you home.
This isn't the place to try to save a money. Just replace it with a decent quality supply line. Preferably braided steel type.

 

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[Terry]

Anytime I remove a supply line, it gets tossed and a new one installed. They don't last forever.