Help - loo Niagara!

[NorkyPies]

I've had water rushing out of the loo overflow pipe (into garden) at a frightening rate. Rang Yorkshire Water for advice, and was told to turn off the water supply into the house until I can get a plumber. I've done this, and realise it cuts off all my water - but will this affect my central heating? Not so worried about the cold, but the central heating circulates warm water through radiators, no?

it will not affect the central heating, which is on a closed circuit and pumps the same hot water round and round the boiler and radiators.

If you have a combi boiler you will not be able to run any hot water.

Have you got a hot water cylinder?

have you looked in the loo? you might be able to fiddle with the mechanism and stop it, it just the overflow - i wouldn't turn off the water just for that

1. has the water stopped overflowing the cistern yet?

2. When can you get someone to fix it?

3. take the lid of the cistern. Can you see a big rounds plastic float, and is it floating on top of the water, and is it firmly attached to a plastic or brass arm which pivots up and down on the valve?
   like this
   or this
   or this

4. If you look at the supply pipe, which is probably a copper pipe of 15mm diameter, and attaches to the ball valve either on the side of the cistern, or on the botton, can you see a service valve about two inches long, with a screw-head visible on the side?
   like this

Wow - lots of help, thankyou. The overflow is still coming out, but much slower. There's still a trickle of water from the tap - maybe I haven't managed to turn it off completely.

Thanks for the reassurance about the central heating.

I will contact plumber first thing tomorrow. Will go and check the cistern to see if it is anything like the pictures, thanks.

if you are really lucky, there might be one you can turn off by hand,
like this

And if not, and you end up getting a plumber in, I very very strongly recommend that you have one fitted, as it will save you all this trouble next time.

P.S. yes I have got a hot water cylinder, but have turned off the immersion heater which I sometimes use in preference to the central heating option (it gets hotter, quicker).

the trickle of water suggests you might have a cold water tank, and it has just taken a while to empty.

very important to know what you find in an around the cistern as you may be able to make a better temp fix.

p.s.

if, as it now appears, you have a cold water tank, and if you are willing and able to climb into the loft, there is a fair chance that on the side of the cold water tank, near the bottom, there will be two large copper pipes coming out. One goes to the cold bathroom taps, and one goes to the hot water cylinder (there is a faint chance some sensible person has labelled them). If you are lucky they will have got service valves on them, probably with a round wheel-head rather than a "T" shaped tap handle.

After you've looked in and around the cylinder we'll see if we need to look in the loft.

After you've looked in and around the cistern

I meant.

Have managed to turn off the (house) water supply completely now, so loo cistern has stopped filling up. My assembly doesn't look anything like the pictures. It's all plastic, with a cellophane-looking pipe that feeds the water in from a plastic pipe coming from the bottom. There are several big plastic nuts, but I can't shift any of them. The float thing is shaped like a cap.

When I first looked, the cellophane thing had been pushed out of place, I guess by the increased water pressure. Where is this pressure coming from? A couple of days ago, I dropped something onto the soft plastic cover of the water tank in the loft. Could I have shifted the ballcock in there? I had a look, but everything appeared ok.

I had something like this happen to one of our loos. It turned out that a valve had worn through, so even when the ballcock in the cistern had risen it couldn't shut off the flow of water into the cistern and it flowed out like a tap from the overflow (only abating after a flush, until the cistern refilled).

It was a straightforward job for a plumber to fix - he shut off the water, took it apart, put in new valve, reassembled and turned water back on.

can you see yours on here?

If the water is coming out of the WC cistern in the bathroom, then it is not caused by anything you did in the loft. As you are obviously happy in the loft, go and look for those two service valves on the cold water tank.

I bet you've got a bottom-feed Torbeck or an Armitage Shanks (very very quiet in filling). Is the float like a plastic cup, upside down? Is it open at the bottom, or sealed? Is the float floating, or sunk, and is it still attached?

like this but with a plastic stem going through the bottom of the cistern

Did you find an isolating valve on the copper pipe under the cistern?

Yes this is the one www.screwfix.com/p/armitage-shanks-8-bottom-entry-fill-valve/98097, and the name 'Torbek' rings a bell.

OK. one of these perhaps I like Torbecks but some people find them less reliable than the Fluidmaster equivalent.

Usually when they fail it is because they have got grit or limescale in and it's jammed the mechanism. But if you can't undo the plastic nuts you can't take it apart. Presumably the float is floating and has risen to the top of its travel? Just carry on looking for an isolating valve either under the cistern or on the side of the cold tank. Once that's dealt with you'll be able to go to bed.

BTW, does anything come out of the hot taps now?

Yes the float is like a cup, open at the bottom. It's still attached, not sure whether it's sunk or not. There is a nut on the copper pipe under the cistern - should I try turning it to cut off water?

This is the one, but with bottom entry www.screwfix.com/p/armitage-shanks-side-entry-fill-valve/64191. Yes, water still coming from the hot tap.

if it's just a nut, it's probably where the copper pipe attaches to the plastic tail of the float valve.

Is there nothing like
www.screwfix.com/p/pegler-t-ball-valve-15mm-blue/21860
or
www.screwfix.com/p/15mm-isolating-valve-pack-of-10/32802

good. If there's water coming from the hot tap, then you can use it to fill a bucket to top up the cistern to flush the loo. You can also fill the kettle from the hot tap. Don't leave it running because there will only be a limited amount, perhaps 20 gallons, in the loft tank.

No need to go in the loft since it sounds like your WC cistern is fed from the water main, not the tank.

Nothing like that - it's all plasic, with 3 nut-like things that could be turned.

Thanks for the help, Piglet.

Could it possibly be a plastic Speedfit one something like this

The screw-head, plastic handle or whatever must be facing out of the side of the fitting, not at either end.

If not, it sounds like you have no isolating valve, so will have to wait for the plumber. Ask him to fit an isolating valve (with plastic handle) like in the link, to save you all this trouble next time. Preferably there should be one under every WC cistern in the house.

one of these, I mean

NOT one of these

No, it's much simpler looking than that, so probably no isolater then. Will take your advice and ask the plumber to fit one. Phew! was in a panic, but feel much better with all this help and information, and reassurance. Thanks Piglet, Bran and Edith!