our toilet is continually dripping water into the bowl after u flush it. anyone know how to stop this? thanks?

There is a screw at the very top where the arm of the ball attached to the thing that comes up from the toilet. Tighten that screw and it will adjust the height of the ball. Don't bend the arm or you will eventually make it worse. If that doesn't work, go to the hardware store and buy some new "guts" for inside the toilet. They are fairly easy to install. Just ask the person working at the store and they should be able to help you. Try Home Depot as they usually have people there that can help you and help describe how to do it.

If you stated correctly that by pulling up on the balloon ball (actually called a float), the water stops flowing, the problem is definately NOT the float. This is a common misconception.

There is a hollow tube that sticks up from the bottom of the tank (cistern.) Is the water flowing over the top of that tube into the bowl? If not, are you sure the water is flowing into the bowl? Do you actually see the water flowing or are you just hearing it run?

If you see it, the problem is the flapper valve the allows water to flow from the tank to the bowl when you flush. If you do not see it, but you hear it, the valve that lets water into the tank after flushing is finished is not shutting off.

If it is the flapper, make sure it is straight and not crooked. It is cheap and easy to replace them.

If it is the valve, you can replace the entire fill valve assembly fairly cheap and easy. You might be able to open up the valve and replace the rubber stopper in it.

If you ever need to know if water is seeping into the bowl, you can wait until the tank is completely full then put food coloring into the tank. You will see any leakage fairly soon.

You would be better off filling the tank. Handle the top of the tank very carefully -- don't break it. I've dumped a bucket of scrubwater into the bowl and noticed that it makes the toilet flush. But if the toilet's very full now, I would caution against this maneuver. You need to be able to dump a whole bucket of water in the bowl, at once, not just pour it in.

The plumbers answer would be to stop wasting time screwing with the float and just replace the the whole fill valve with something more modern like a fluidmaster 400a fill valve. Simple to install, easier than hooking up a printer to a computer. Any hardware store will have them. While you are at it bring in the flapper ( the flappy thing that lets the water out), the hardware clerk should be able to give you the correct one. Replace your flapper and the same time as the fill valve and you will have totally rebuilt your toilet tank just like a pro. No more high water bills for a leaking flapper and no more annoying ball type fill valve.

The check ball isn't seating properly against the ceramic valve seat.

You can buy the check ball separately, but you want to take a few minutes and look at it closely to figure out why it isn't seating.

Most times you can lengthen the chain or bend something to make it seal better. I've only bought a new check ball once in my life, and that was for a different reason.

You won't need any more than the most basic tools, and usually none are needed for this problem.

there is nothing wrong with the ball, you have to change the seal at the bottom of the tankl,they are usually black and have a chain attached to them so that when you flush the arm lifts the seal and the water goes into the bowl.

Usually there's an adjustment on the top of the tube that the ball is attached to. If not, then bend the rod slightly downward that the ball is attached to (bend it down into the water). Be careful not to damage the other parts when you apply pressure to the rod.

Yeah, the easy thing to tell you from here is, put a little more bend in the metal arm that holds the bulb, so that the valve will operate when the water is at a slightly lower level.

Replace the balloon ball. They don't cost much and there are directions on the box.

Either bend it downwards (metal rod)- lenghthen the rod and ball (threaded) or replace the flapper in the bottom. Or all the above.