Our toilet fills up and leaks out of the flush handle. I turned off the water supply, and checked the screw to see that it was at the right level, checked the ball to make sure there weren't any holes and when I pull up on the ball lever it shuts the water off, but it still fills up and over flows out of the handle when the toilet hasn't been flushed for a few hours. We keep waking up in the morning to a bathroom full of water. I even put a trash can underneath to catch the water but it fills the trash can and over flows. Obviously this is wasting water and slowly ruining the flooring not to mention the carpet outside of the bathroom. What am I missing?:confused:

First replace the seal in the fill valve, it obviously is not shutting the water off completely, Second cut off the overflow pipe below the level of the flush handle. Maybe that should be first thing to do. If you have a plastic (pvc) overflow pipe be gentle with it. They become brittle after a period and will break easily. If you break it you will have to remove the tank to replace it. The best tool to cut the overflow pipe is a coping saw with the blade turned side ways.

Thanks! The overflow pipe is vvery high, and the toilet is about 40 years old. We had a home warranty on it, but the folks who owned the house before did their own repairs and replaced the seal on the main pipe under the toilet and it voided our warranty. Y father-i-law is going to come and take a look at it tomorrow. I think he is going to just replace all of the guts. Really I think we should get a new toilet but we can't afford it.

Meanwhile turn the toilet supply valve off when not using it.

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I think we should get a new toilet but we can't afford it

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Toilets don't wear out. The innards do and the bowl can lime up with mineral build up but they don't wear out.
Turn the water off at the stop and remove the three screws on top of the ballcock, Pull the stem and float ball assembly up and off to the side. Pre the washer and turn it over and reinstall it. Now feel the seat. If it's nicked or has rough edges you must replace the ball cock. If everything's OK reassemble and test.
Let me run through the tank adjustments. Check the tank water level, it should be at the mark in the tank or 3/8 to 1/2" below the top of the over flow tube. I set the tank level by adjusting the height of the float ball.
There are two ways to do this, 1) by adjusting the screw on top of the ballcock, **or** 2) (My personal favorite) Grasp the rod just ahead of the float ball, (do not grab the ball itself) with one hand and next to the ballcock with the other.
Bend the rod up to increase the tank level and down to decrease the level. The tank level should be set at 1/2 inch under the top of the white overflow tube. Now look at the flapper, If it has wavy edges on the flat surface, replace it. The linkage between the flapper and the flush lever should have 1/4" play when the tank is filled. Also, check the small tube coming out of the top of the ballcock and make sure it's connect to and draining into the white overflow tube.
Good luck, Tom

Hi Mary,

First follow Harold's and Tom's Instruction I am sure you will fix the problem if not its time to change the ballcock assembly it is cheap and easy to replace, also I will recommend to replace with the fluid master it work great and reliable, good luck.

John