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If you have a running toilet, the first things people do is to replace the toilet flapper and the fill valve. I would try the flapper first, but you might as well replace the fill valve as it is likely to go bad soon too, if it hasn’t already.
The toilet flapper seals water from leaking out of the toilet tank and into the bowl. When enough water has leaked out of the tank, the fill valve will turn the water on to refill the tank. So the flapper is the first choice.
If you have replaced the flapper and the water still leaks out of the tank (assuming there is not crack in the tank), you may have a bad flush valve. The flush valve is what the flapper sits on. The flush valve assembly sits in the hole in the bottom of the tank. Before you replace this part, however, you might inspect the seat that the flapper is sitting on.
These parts spend their entire lives in water. Over time, scale and deposits can form on various parts. This might play a role in your tank losing water. Lift up the flapper and check the rim of the seat where the flapper sits. You are looking for tiny bumps in this area. These bumps will allow a small amount of water to pass and eventually when enough water passes, the fill valve turns on and refills your toilet’s tank. Try using your fingernail and scrape off the bumps. You can also try a flusher fixer which has a gel ring that sits on top of any bumps or deformities at the seat.
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