Toilet, faucet and fixture repair in Covina

Covina is an older city. The City's 6th cycle Housing Element, certified in March 2024, says about two-thirds of homes were built before 1970, and about 58% are single-family detached houses. That means a lot of original bathrooms, original shutoff valves and toilets that have been swapped once or twice over the decades. Add very hard water, and the parts inside the tank work harder here than they would in a soft water town.

A toilet that clogs every few weeks, or gurgles when the washing machine drains, often is not a toilet problem. In pre-1970 Covina homes, the drain under the house and the sewer lateral to the street are common causes. The City of Covina says the property owner maintains that lateral, from the house to the public main, roots included. Our drain cleaning page covers clogs in the house, and our sewer lateral camera and repair page covers the pipe you own under the yard. If sewage is coming up in a tub or shower, treat it as an emergency.

The EPA's WaterSense program says the average household's leaks can waste more than 9,300 gallons a year, and about 9% of homes have leaks wasting 50 gallons or more a day. It also says a faucet dripping once a second can waste more than 3,000 gallons a year, and a showerhead leaking 10 drips a minute wastes more than 500 gallons a year. WaterSense suggests checking flappers regularly and replacing them at least every five years. In Covina's hard water, a flapper can harden and lose its seal sooner, so the dye test is worth doing a couple of times a year.

The whole-house meter test

For a whole-house check, read your water meter, use no water for two hours, then read it again. WaterSense says that if the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak. If every toilet passes the dye test and no faucet is dripping, but the meter still moves, the leak may be in a wall, under the slab or in the yard. That is a job for leak detection, not a fixture repair.

Most single-handle faucets made in the last few decades use a cartridge. When it wears or scales up, the faucet drips at the spout or the handle gets stiff. Replacing the cartridge with the right part usually stops it. Older two-handle faucets, still common in Covina's 1950s and 1960s kitchens and baths, use rubber washers that press against brass seats. The washers harden and the seats get pitted, and both can be replaced if the faucet body is still sound. When the body is corroded, or the brand and parts are long gone, a new faucet is the better buy.

Leaks under the sink

• Supply lines: braided and older plastic lines fail with age. Replace both when one goes.
• Angle stops: the small shutoff valves under each sink often seize or weep in older homes. Replacing them while the faucet is out is cheap insurance.
• P-trap and drain joints: slip nuts loosen, and old chrome or steel traps rust through from the inside.
• Faucet base: water running down the deck and into the cabinet points to a worn base gasket, a loose mount or a cracked body.
• Sprayer hose and pull-down hose: these crack inside the cabinet where no one sees them until the cabinet floor is soft.

Outdoor hose bibs

A hose bib that drips all day is a small leak that adds up, and under the City's rules it is water waste once you know about it. Most can be rebuilt with a new washer and packing. If the bib is cracked, or the pipe behind it is old galvanized steel, we replace the bib and the short section of pipe. If you see water on the stucco below a bib, mention it: the leak may be inside the wall.

What counts as noncompliant

Under the state law known as SB 407, as summarized by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, noncompliant fixtures are toilets rated above 1.6 gallons per flush, urinals above 1.0 gallon per flush, showerheads above 2.5 gallons per minute and faucets above 2.2 gallons per minute. California Civil Code 1101.4 required single-family owners to replace them by January 1, 2017. It also says that for a permitted alteration or improvement, the fixtures must be replaced before the building department gives final approval, and sellers must tell buyers in writing about the requirement and whether noncompliant fixtures remain.

With about two-thirds of Covina homes built before 1970, original high-flush toilets and old showerheads still turn up, especially in back bathrooms and garage conversions. When we replace a fixture, the new one meets current limits. When you remodel a bathroom, the City of Covina requires a plumbing permit (Handout #14 explains it), most permits are issued over the counter at 125 E College St, and no work may be covered before inspection. Our Covina permit guide walks through the counter visit.

Low-flow fixtures and hard water need a little care together. Low-flow aerators and showerheads have smaller openings, so scale blocks them sooner. Cleaning them every few months keeps them performing as rated.

Replacing a toilet usually means a new wax ring, closet bolts, supply line and often a new angle stop. Replacing a faucet usually means new supply lines and stops. In older homes we also check the flange and the drain under the sink, because a new fixture on an old, failing connection does not last. If the house has original galvanized supply pipe, we will tell you what we see inside the fittings when we take them apart.