Squealing noise from toilet tank?

[linda1195]

I live in a high-rise condo and am responsible for my own internal home repairs.

Problem 1 started about 1 year ago, with tank overflowing. A small amount ofinvestigation on my own part found that the "ball" had a crack in it, over time filled with water, and stopped floating. So I bought a new one, read the instructions and replaced it myself.

Problem 2 started two weeks ago (yes I know I should have addressed this then) with a horrible squealing noise coming from the tank. It starts off as a low squeal and builds to a torturous sound. I take the lid off, use a screw-driver and adjust the screw to get the squeal to stop. Within 5 minutes it will start again. It only seems to happen in the middle of the night (of course I am out at work all day so have no clue what is happening then...)

Do I need to replace the whole mechanism in the tank? Should I bring in a professional? Could my replacement of the "ball" not been done properly ( I am NO handy-woman!) thus causing this new problem down the line?

I need help. The 2am wake-up squeals are a drag.....
Thanks in advance for any and all advice!!

[Terry]

Sounds like a noisey fill valve.
Many plumbers are installing either the Fluidmaster 400A
or the Korky fill valve.

Korky fill valve

[Bob's HandyGuy]

Yeah, what Terry said. And while you're at it, replace the rubber flapper. (That thing at the end of the chain.) If your toilet is flushing itself, you probably need a new one.

[jadnashua]

The fill valves are easy to install. The (once-in-awhile) problem is getting the old one out. In most cases, you shut off the water, unscrew the supply line from the bottom of the tank, then unscrew the nut holding the fill valve to the tank. Once the nut is off, you pull the fill valve out, insert the new one, tighten it down, then reattach the supply (oh, this assumes that you flushed the toilet, then sponged out the tank first).

Once that is done, it is 5-minutes to get the new one in and ready to go. Another possible source of a problem is if the shutoff valve doesn't shut off - common if it is old - the washer or seat may be gone. This is easy to check, turn the valve off, flush the toilet and check to see if the toilet tank fills (it may be slow - hopefully it doesn't). If the toilet shutoff no longer works properly, then you may be able to shut of the main (although in a condo, you may not have access - I do in mine).