Urinals are normally found in business locations (i.e. restaurants, office buildings, gas stations, etc.) although lately it seems, there has been a slight increase in the installation of urinals in residential homes.
Wherever the urinals are located, they do occasionally have the problem of continuously running – which by the way is a very common issue.
So, how do you fix a urinal that will not stop running? – The problem is usually a worn out diaphragm. It’s just a matter of replacing the old diaphragm with a new one.
Replacing A Urinal Diaphragm
Following are the easy steps to replacing the diaphragm in your urinal.
1) First step is to turn the water source to the urinal off. You can do this by turning off the main water valve or by turning off the secondary water shut off that may be located on the pipe system of the urinal itself.
Depending on the type of urinal you are working on and the type of building you are working in (business or residential), choose whichever of these two methods to turn the water source off.
2) Next, you need to turn the flush head screw (a 6 or 3 sided bolt) on top of the flush head so that it’s loose enough to allow you to remove the flush head cap.
NOTE: Water may rush out once you remove the cap so be prepared. It’s normal but you may want to be wearing your rubber boots!
3) Now you will be able to find and replace the diaphragm.
The diaphragm is a fairly large disc (usually black in color) found inside the flush head.
Remove the diaphragm and replace it with a new one.
4) Put everything back in place – turn the water source back on and if the problem for the water running in your urinal was the diaphragm, the issue should be corrected.
If you are still having problems with your urinal we recommend you call in a professional plumber to assess and fix the problem.
If you have any questions about plumbing problems with urinals, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-443-8229. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.