Plumbing question

[Richard22]

I had to replace the valve stem and washers in the water supply valve for one of our toilets. After turning off the water and flushing the toilet to get water out of the line, I was surprised at how much water drained out of the valve once I removed the old stem. It must have been at least a half bucket of water to which I wasn't totally prepared to catch given the short distance between valve and bathroom floor. The valve is on the first floor and is probably a low point drain for all the house piping. Would it have been a good idea to begin by opening another nearby faucet to drain the house piping before working on the toilet valve, and if so, should I have closed the other faucet before starting on the toilet valve? TIA

I should add I was very glad to discover replacement valve stems and washers are available for these supply valves. $3 for a replacement stem kit beats the heck out of the time and expense to replace the entire valve.

 

[Nick87]

@warmer

 

[warmer]

I'm a little confused on your terminology. But yes, open a faucet close to the toilet or better yet, open one below the toilet(basement) if you can. Then close it once you get the pressure off. Air has to get in in order for water to get out, so if you keep things closed it should help. Got a picture of "water supply valve" and the parts you put in?

 

[Richard22]

I'm a little confused on your terminology. But yes, open a faucet close to the toilet or better yet, open one below the toilet(basement) if you can. Then close it once you get the pressure off. Air has to get in in order for water to get out, so if you keep things closed it should help. Got a picture of "water supply valve" and the parts you put in?

Thanks for the reply.

Here's a link to the repair kit that I picked up at Home Depot. It was a very easy fix once I got the water pipe and valve body drained to the point where I could install the new stem. There's a bathtub faucet on the other side of the wall from the toilet stall that I could have easily opened to drain water from the house piping and then closed it once water had stopped draining from it. Hindsight is always 20-20 but I could tell the water that started draining once I removed the old stem had nothing but gravity pressure (two story home) behind it. I just thought flushing the toilet (which left the flush valve open) would drain most of the water from the pipe connected to the valve.

Brasscraft Stem Repair Kit