{diy with style} Getting Playful with a New Toilet Lever

Who’s a fan of Shark Week?!  My husband definitely is, and I have a sneaking suspicion that in a couple of years our sons will be as well.  We were watching sharks around the clock in our house a couple of weeks ago, and since this year’s Shark Week coincided closely with my husband’s birthday, I decided to make his birthday shark themed.

I started seeing a lot of sharkey decor popping up all over the internet, but I couldn’t see myself hanging shark artwork in our living room, or entertaining guests on shark appetizer plates.  But then a shiny shark toilet flush lever caught my eye – fun and whimsical, but not too over the top.  I knew it would be perfect for our boys’ bathroom.  What a fun way for my husband to share his love of sharks with his sons!

Normally I would stay miles away from any project that even remotely involves plumbing, but after reading the installation instructions for the new toilet lever it seemed simple enough. I decided to tackle the project while Scott was at work on his birthday so that I could surprise him with it.

Here’s my step-by-step photo tutorial for swapping out a toilet lever:

Prepare for the Installation:  You’ll be lifting up on the toilet flapper during the installation, so turn off the water to the toilet before beginning to avoid wasting water.  Then remove the toilet tank lid.  With the lid removed, you’ll see something similar to this:

Disconnect the Chain:  On the inside of the toilet tank, the flush lever has a long arm that is connected to the chain that lifts the flapper/toilet valve.  Or in the case of my toilet, there is a rubber strap in place of a traditional chain. In either event, the process is the same.  Disconnect the chain or strap from the lever arm.

Remove the Old Lever:  Remove the nut inside the tank that holds the lever in place. Note that most of these nuts have left-handed threads, meaning they’ll turn in the opposite direction that you’d expect.  Don’t apply too much pressure until you are sure which direction will loosen the nut or you run the risk of cracking the porcelain tank.  Once the nut is loose, remove it by hand and slide the lever arm through the hole to fully remove the old flush lever.

Insert the New Lever:  Remove the nut from the new lever and place the lever arm through the hole.  Slide the nut back over the arm and tighten it down by hand, remembering again that it’s likely a left-handed thread.  Finish tightening with a wrench or pliers, being careful not to tighten too much so as to not crack the porcelain tank.

Reconnect the Chain:  Reconnect the chain or rubber strap.  If you have a chain, make sure to connect the chain using the same hole as on the old arm, or if you have a strap, make sure to pull the strap through to the same spot.  You need the flapper mechanism to be able to fully open and close.  If the chain or strap is too loose, the tank won’t fully drain, and if it’s too tight, the flapper may not seal fully, causing the toilet to run continuously.

Test the New Lever:  Turn the water supply to the toilet back on, wait for the tank to refill, and, with the tank lid still removed, flush the toilet and observe whether the flapper is able to fully open and close.  If not, adjust the length of the chain/strap and test flush again.  Once you have determined that the chain/strap is adjusted properly you can replace the tank lid and admire your new toilet lever.

The original white lever never bothered me before, but now that I see our shiny new shark lever I realize how much more personality our toilet can have.  It’s like jewelry for the loo! Wow, there’s a statement I never thought I’d make… 😉

Now, I don’t suspect that everyone wants a shark toilet lever, but there are plenty of other options out there – ranging from playful to traditional to modern.  And now that I realize it’s such a simple project, I think the other toilets in our house may be getting some dressing with something more like this one made by Danze: