When you take your toilet apart, it can be difficult to tell what everything is called and how everything fits together. As such, we’ve created toilet part diagram so that you can refer to it while you’re trying to fix your toilet or replace some pieces. This will ensure that you put everything back together in the right order and that your toilet ends up working again when you’re done fixing it!
Toilet Parts
The toilet is one of the most complex machines in your home, with over a dozen different parts that work together to make sure it does its job well. For this reason, you might have had trouble figuring out how to fix a leaky toilet or install a new flapper in the past. The diagram below will break down the parts of a typical two-piece toilet for you so that you’ll never need to worry about which type of plunger fits your needs.
Flush Mechanism
The flush mechanism is the same for all toilets. The inlet valve seals when the tank is full and opens when the toilet needs to be flushed. The water in the tank forces the contents of the bowl, usually by pressing against a water seal, into a large, curved pipe called a siphon. That pipe empties into a larger drainpipe through an opening called an orifice.
Solenoid Valve
A solenoid valve is an electromechanical device that operates based on changes in electrical polarity. One of the more common uses for a solenoid valve is within a toilet. The toilet has two main parts: the bowl and the tank. The tank holds water and flushes with the use of a lever attached to the water pipe, or fill valve.
Fill Valve
The Fill Valve is often located right below the toilet tank and is what allows water to flow in when you flush. Fill Valves are usually made of a hard plastic or metal, but older models may be made of rubber. The most common function of a Fill Valve is that it regulates how quickly the tank fills with water after flushing.
Bowl Rim
The rim of the toilet bowl is what catches everything that you flush away. This rim, made of porcelain or plastic, is important to keep clean because of its close proximity to germs and other substances lurking on your bathroom floor. The rim is also home to a water line which lets you know when the toilet tank needs refilling and can regulate the amount of water being released into the toilet bowl.
Supply Tube & Outlet Pipe
An important feature of your toilet is the pipe that connects the water inlet to the bowl. This is known as the Supply Tube or Outlet Pipe. As water rushes into the tank, it will create a pressure gradient and flow down through the pipe to fill up the bowl. When you flush, this creates a negative pressure gradient inside the tank and consequently sucks any contents back up into the tank.
Water Waste Pipe
The water waste pipe is located below the water inlet valve and at the back of the toilet bowl. It connects to the drainage system, usually through a trap and ballcock assembly. This assembly allows you to control how much water is drawn into the tank, depending on whether you need to flush it more or less often. If a slower flow is desired, the ballcock mechanism will be adjusted accordingly with a long lever and arm system.