Pro Handyman Blog

If you are having a problem getting water to the toilet, it is a matter of troubleshooting the problem with the simplest items first and moving backwards.

First make sure that other fixtures are receiving water. If they are, then make sure that the angle stop is opened (turn it counter-clockwise). Remove the lid to the toilet and toggle the fill valve or ballcock (whichever style you have).

I would start with removing the water supply line to the fill valve. Turn the angle stop off (rotate handle clockwise) and disconnect the supply line from the fill valve. Point it in a bucket and slowly turn on the angle stop. If you get water flowing from the supply line, you need to replace the toilet fill valve. If you don’t get water from the supply line, you probably have a problem with the angle stop. It is usually the case that the angle stop has failed and it needs to be replaced. The other possibility is that there is some type of blockage in the pipe before the angle valve, which in not very common.

At this point you will need to turn off the water to the house to replace the angle valve. If you want to be sure, you can connect a piece of tubing with a hose clamp to the end of the pipe and run it into a bucket. Then turn the water back on and see if you get water flowing into the bucket.