Water leaking from handle hole.

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txteen

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My toilet randomly decides to overflow from the tank. It started up again last week and is now doing it consistently. The floater works and the toilet doesn't continue to run so I am confused as to where the water is coming from! I just woke up and it leaked out all night. The tanks fills all the way to the top and then starts leaking out of the toilet handle hole. Any suggestions as to how to stop this and what is even happening?
 

Reach4

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You would appear to have more than one failure for this to happen. A toilet has an overflow, usually a tube near the middle of the tank, that routes water that is too high out of the tank and into the bowl.

The tube is usually part of the flush valve. You could consider replacing the flush valve, but this would also be a good time to consider if you might want a new toilet. A new toilet may flush more effectively with less water used.

You would also seem to have an intermittent problem with the fill valve.
 

Wallijonn

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If it's leaking out the handle then chances are the tank is cracked at where the handle hole is so that water can travel up the crack. Yes, water can travel upwards.
 

txteen

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Oh no, the whole tank fills up that high!!! So there isn't any water moving up cracks...it is just filling up all the way.
 
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Reach4

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Would shortening the overflow help the problem?
That question implies that the top of the overflow is higher than the bottom of the toilet handle hole. So, in that case, yes!

But that tall of an overflow would be very unusual. It would have been from a replacement, and the too-high overflow tube was not noticed before because the fill valve was working properly.

Remember that this symptom takes two problems takes two problems. One possibility is that the water pressure is too high at times and forces water through a properly adjusted working fill valve. The other possibility I can think of is that your fill valve is defective and does not always shut off at the adjusted height.
 

Jadnashua

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As indicated, you are likely to have multiple problems:
1. The fill valve is not fully shutting off where it should. This can be caused by excessive house water pressure, a leaking seal in the valve, or it is mis-adjusted. If the seal is barely leaking, you may not hear the water running.
2. The overflow tube is too tall...a 'proper' one for your toilet would have the outlet of the overflow low enough so the level would never reach the handle hole. It is unlikely, but possible, that the overflow tube's path is blocked by something, and water can't flow. Is the opening at the top of the overflow above or below the water level?
3. There could be a crack...sometimes, they are hard to see.
 
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