I live in a two level condo. When my neighbor who lives behind me flushes his or her toilet, my toilet on the first level flushes as well. It's not a full flush, but when I take the lid off the tank, the refill valve is open and water seems to flow from the tank into the toilet. I'm not sure why this is happening or what I can do to fix it. Or if I should even worry about it.

Hi Brokefoot...

This may or may not have anything to do with your neighbor's toilet..? Let's see.

Take some food coloring and put 10 drops in the toilet TANK. Gently stir the food color into the water without letting any dye fall into the overflow tube or without disturbing the flapper... ok?

Then let the toilet sit for awhile, say 15 minutes, and then check to see if the dye color shows up in the toilet BOWL. If dye showed up in the toilet bowl then you need to replace the flapper, or worst case, replace the entire flush valve assembly.

If no dye showed up wait another hour or so and check again. If dye is present in the toilet BOWl, then you still need to replace the flapper.

Here, if the flapper lets water pass by slowly the water level eventually drops enough that the toilet water fill valve engages and fills the tank to the correct level. It can be quite a cycle... lose water, refill, lose water, refill... etc. This can also be expensive.

Anyway, try the dye test. Let me know what you discover. If I have totally misunderstood this, just let me know more details and I will hop on it quickly!

MARK

Thanks so much for the quick reply.. But I may not have explained the problem in enough detail.. The reason I know my toilet flushes when I suspect my neighbor flushes his toilet is I can hear it. It sounds like it does when I flush my toilet. I can hear the water flowing down from the second floor to fill the tank and the fill valve closing when the tank is full.. And believe me it's loud! It's almost funny when it's late at night and I'm home alone laying on the couch dozing off.. Some times I jump up because I'm just not expecting to hear my the toilet flush.

Whoever did the plumbing when the place was built did not do a good job. In the upstairs bathroom, I can hear the pipes knocking when I run water in the bathroom sink. At first I thought I had a leak but a plumber told me that it's because the pipes were never secured properly to prevent them from moving when water is flowing through them.

Then if I understand this this time, when your neighbor flushes his/her toilet your toilet fill valve engages and begins to allow water into the tank without you touching anything... right?

If this is the case then it is probably time to replace your toilet FILL VALVE as it is has become sensitive and engages far too easily.

If you want to replace the fill valve it is a very easy job to do.

Let me know if this makes sense and if you want to replace the valve yourself... :)

MARK

Thanks much... Well this will be a good test for me.. I've been talking about learning more about doing home repair. It's time to stop talking and start taking some action...

Thanks again..
:eek:

Glad to help. Just let me know when you want to get started and I'll post all the info. Needed.

:)