Flushing mechanism sticking

martindow

This is the mechanism from a toilet system.  The section on the left should drop down under its own weight after the flush button has been pressed.  Recently it has been sticking in the raised position so that water flows continuously.   Sometimes pressing the button again causes it to drop and other times I have to remove it from the cistern to shake it free.

I'm in a hard water area so I assume it is scale building up.  Squirting descaler in anywhere I can seems to work for a while, but after a few hours or days it starts sticking again.

I'm worried about leaving descaler on for more than five or ten minutes as per the instructions in case it attacks the plastic or the washer or is this worh a try?  Any ideas? 

plumb1_2

Imo best to replace with new. You could try replacing the washer on the bottom.

martindow

Thanks and apologies for being slow to reply.  I think the washer is OK - when it drops down it seats fine.  The problem is that it sticks an inch or so above a lot of the time.

Do these mechanisms have a standard connection to the piece fixed to the base of the cistern or would I need to search for a new upper part of the same design?  Or is it best to replace the whole thing?

FreeBear

martindow said: I'm worried about leaving descaler on for more than five or ten minutes as per the instructions in case it attacks the plastic or the washer or is this worh a try?  Any ideas? 

Most plastics are pretty safe from being attacked by acids found in your average household. It is the metal components that would suffer the most.