Toilet and Cistern Repair in Porto

What might be wrong with your cistern

Nobody calls to say the float valve has stopped sealing. People call to say the toilet keeps running, that they have to press the button twice, or that there is water on the floor and they cannot tell where it comes from. That is exactly what we need to hear.

These are the cistern faults we are called out for most often.

Toilet keeps running

You hear a trickle into the bowl long after the flush, or the cistern refills on its own now and then with nobody touching it. The cause is nearly always the float valve, which no longer shuts off the water coming in, or the flush valve, which no longer seals. It is not loud enough to bother anyone, but it wastes water every day and ends up on the water bill. We wrote a short guide on what to check when your toilet keeps running.

Cistern not flushing or a weak flush

You press the button and nothing happens, or the water comes down without force and the bowl does not clear. The button mechanism may have come loose, the flush valve may be stuck or the cistern may not be filling. If the cistern is exposed, we ask you to lift the lid and check for water, which tells a filling fault apart from a flushing fault.

Concealed cistern

In many bathrooms the cistern is built into the wall and all you see is a flush plate. A repair does not mean breaking tiles: the plate is the intended access, it comes off and the work is done through the opening. A photo of it sent on WhatsApp helps us know which system you have.

A wobbly toilet or a leak at the base

Some toilet faults cannot be heard or seen straight away, and those are the ones that do the most damage. Water escapes slowly, soaks into the floor and only shows when the flooring lifts or a stain appears on the ceiling of the flat below. If you rent, tell your landlord as soon as you notice it.

Wobbly toilet

If the pan moves when you sit down, the floor fixings are loose or the seal at the base is worn. It feels like a small annoyance, but every movement strains the connection to the waste pipe. Left alone it ends up leaking into the floor, so it is worth sorting early. Tightening the fixings is not always enough: once the seal has given way, it has to be replaced.

Leak at the base

Water around the base after every flush means the seal between the pan and the waste pipe has failed, or the water connection to the cistern is leaking. Dry the floor well and watch where the water comes back: straight after a flush, or all the time. While you wait for us, close the small isolation valve on the cistern supply.

Toilet replacement: when it is worth it

Most faults are fixed by changing a cistern part or the base seal, without touching the pan itself. Replacing the whole toilet only makes sense in some cases, and when it does not, we tell you.

We look at three things. Whether the ceramic has a crack, however small, because a cracked pan cannot be safely repaired. Whether parts for that cistern can still be found, which is not always true of older models. And whether this is the first fault or the third in a short time. With that on the table we give you both options and a quote for each, and the decision is yours.

When the choice is to replace, we remove the old toilet, fit the new one with a new seal and water connection, fix it to the floor and test several flushes before calling the job done. If you rent your flat, you may want to forward the quote to your landlord first.

Blocked or broken: which one do you have

If the water rises in the bowl and drains slowly, or comes back up when you flush, the toilet is blocked and the cistern is doing its job. In that case the right service is drain unblocking in Porto. If the water runs non stop, will not flush or appears on the floor, it is a toilet or cistern repair, the work described here.

When the leak comes from the pipework in the wall rather than the toilet, it becomes a job for a plumber in Porto, and one call covers both. You do not have to work out beforehand whether it needs a plumber, a toilet repair or a drain clearance. Describe what happens, or send a photo on WhatsApp, and we will tell you.

What our toilet and cistern repair covers

• Cistern running water continuously
• Float valve and flush valve
• Weak flush or no flush at all
• Concealed wall cisterns
• Pan replacement and base seal
• Leaks at the water connection
• Seats, lids and fixings

How the repair goes, from the first call to the invoice

It is always the same path, day or night. Knowing what comes next helps when there is water on the floor or the only bathroom in the flat is out of action.

1. You call or send a message

   A person answers. We ask for your full address, what is happening and, if possible, a photo of the toilet, the cistern or the flush plate. With that we tell you what is likely and how long we will take to get there.

2. We agree the visit

   We confirm the arrival time and how you would like to pay while still on the phone, so there are no misunderstandings at the door. If there is water on the floor, we tell you which valve to close while you wait.

3. We diagnose at your home

   The technician opens the cistern through the lid or the flush plate and checks the water inlet, the flush, the fixings and the base seal. They explain what they see in plain words and show you the part when it is the culprit.

4. You get the quote before we start

   We tell you what needs doing, what it costs and how long it takes. If the repair is not worth it, we say so. Nothing goes ahead without your approval.

5. We repair and test in front of you

   We replace the part and flush several times in a row, to confirm the cistern fills, stops running and no water appears at the base. If the part has to be ordered, we tell you how long it will take rather than inventing a date.

6. You keep the invoice and our number

   The invoice lists the work and the parts used. That document is your guarantee and what entitles you to complain if anything fails. If the toilet gives trouble again, you call the same number.

Toilet and cistern questions

Toilet repair across Greater Porto

We repair toilets and cisterns in every municipality of Greater Porto. In central Porto many bathrooms are small, in older buildings, with exposed cisterns from other decades, while newer flats in Matosinhos, Maia and Gaia often have concealed cisterns. Either way, the work always starts with a diagnosis on site.

• Porto
• Matosinhos
• Vila Nova de Gaia
• Maia
• Gondomar
• Valongo
• Espinho
• Vila do Conde
• Póvoa de Varzim