| Don't assume that the toilet bowl itself
is leaking. Toilets are sealed to the waste line with
bowl wax and bolted to the floor. See the bolts on each
side of the toilet? (They are under those decorative caps
on each side of the toilet base.)
The bowl wax keeps the water and waste from leaking out of the toilet and waste line. It rarely leaks. There are other things that could cause water to appear around the toilet. How to discover why you have water leaking on the floor. You will need some dry rags or towels, a drop light or flashlight (no candles, please,) and knee pads or a folded rug to kneel on. Wipe the water from the floor. Dry the toilet bowl and tank, the shut-off valve and the supply line that goes from wall or floor to the tank. After everything is wiped dry, put your light on and flush the toilet. Now look around using your light and try to locate where the water is leaking. A. Start at the top of the tank. Water could be leaking out the tank top itself. Sometimes the fill tube is spraying out, rather than spraying down the overflow tube. See fill and overflow tube. B. Now look at the bottom of the tank. There is are bolts and rubber washers that attach the tank to the bowl. Sometimes the washers wear-out or the bolts need to be tightened. Also at the bottom of the tank, in the middle there is a rubber gasket between the tank and the bowl. Although this rarely is the problem, check to make sure that it isn't leaking. You may need to keep drying the toilet and around the toilet, as you look step by step for the leak. C. The next place to look is at the supply tubing; both of its connections, one to the tank and one to the shut-off valve; and at the shut-off valve itself. Any of these may need to be tightened or to be replaced. Do your knees hurt? Stand up and take a break. D. If none of the above has told you where the leak is coming from, consider condensation. Is your tank sweating? Tanks sweat because the room is warmer than the water in the tank. If there's a lot of flushing going on, fresh cold water coming into the warm tank could cause sweating. Or, if your toilet is running all the time, letting fresh cold water into the tank this could cause sweating. E. No leak, yet? Okay, check the bowl wax. Wiping around the base of the toilet at the floor, using your light to help you see, flush the toilet 3 or 4 times, and wait for a leak to show up. Look all around the toilet. It could be a slow leak and take some time to show up. If it's leaking from under the toilet you will have to pull the toilet (remove it) and replace the bowl wax seal. See Removing and Installing a Toilet. F. F is for failing! No Luck? You have not found a leak. Well, that's good news. The reason you find water on the floor around the toilet is probably because someone has a poor aim! Or, the bad news, water could be leaking from your basin (bathroom sink,) from your bathtub, or, heaven forbid, from a leaking pipe within your walls. Keep looking. back to What's Wrong with the Toilet? |
