Picture this: you walk into the bathroom one afternoon and discover a small puddle of water around the base of the toilet. Your first thought is to blame your children as you assume they flushed another toy down the toilet, but then you remember that your children have been over at a friend's house all day and couldn't possibly be to blame for the problem. So, it appears you have a leak that needs to be repaired.
Exploring Your Options
You could call a plumber to repair your toilet leak, but that would be expensive. Besides, this is probably a repair that you can complete on your own. At the same time, this is not a repair that can be ignored because the leak could lead to major problems by causing water damage to your bathroom.
Making the Repair
The first thing you need to do in order to repair a toilet leak is to check the bolts that hold the toilet to the floor. If one or both of the floor bolts are loose, then tightening them will probably take care of the problem. Just be careful to not overtighten the bolts, as you can crack the ceramic of the toilet base and you will have a whole new problem to deal with.
Once you have made sure the bolts are tight, check to see if you still have a leak problem. If you do, the next step is to check the supply line. Make sure all of the connections are tight. If you discover a leak there, you can easily replace the supply line and take care of the leak. In order to do this, simply shut off the valve, flush the toilet and disconnect the line. Make sure you have a small bucket handy when replacing the supply line, as there will be some water in the tank and in the old line. Once the line is removed, replace it with a new line and tighten everything back up.
If that still doesn't fix the problem, you may need to replace the wax ring, which acts as a gasket between the toilet and the drain pipe. Shut off the supply line, flush the toilet to drain the tank, and disconnect the supply line. Once again, keep a bucket on hand to catch the excess water. Then, remove the nuts from the floor bolts, lift the toilet and set it to one side. Scrape away the remains of the old wax ring from both the drain and the base of the toilet and put a new wax ring in place. Place the toilet back over the new wax ring and then reattach and tighten everything.
After taking all of these steps, your leak should be repaired. If you want to learn more about how to repair leaks or how to complete more advanced plumbing repairs, however, you might want to consider taking a few classes. That way, you will be prepared to take care of any problems that occur in your household plumbing system.
A leaky toilet can lead to other major issues such as it can damage the flooring and sub flooring. More severe problems can also damage ceilings and framings below. Leaks can be caused at flush valve or fill valve. However, sometimes, it may also be caused due to hairline tank cracks at those locations.
These are very severe problems, and in these cases, you may need to replace the tank or possibly even the entire toilet. We have tried to explore a few possible reasons for the leaks, and the procedure to fix it. In order to find out the reasons for the leaks, first tighten all the connections. Dry everything with a towel and then carefully examine the source of the leaks. Once you have determined the source, you can proceed and fix it using the following steps.
Loose Nuts under Tanks Tools Required: Flathead screwdriver Adjustable wrench
Procedure 1. Using the flathead screwdriver, hold the bolt steady. 2. At the same time, tighten the nuts on the underside of the tank by using the adjustable wrench. 3. Check if the water still leaks. If no, that is great. If yes, follow the steps below. 4. Holding the bolt steady (as in step one) using the adjustable wrench, remove the nuts, and change the washer with a proper-size new washer for the bolt.
If Water is Leaking at the Fill Valve Tools Required: Wrench
Procedure 1. Turn off the water supply to the toilet. 2. Drain the tank by flushing it 3. Using a wrench, disconnect the supply-tube coupling nut. 4. Remove the mounting nut of the fill valve. 5. Lift out the fill valve 6. Clean its gasket and washer 7. Carefully examine if it is damaged or dried out. If so, you have no other option but to replace it. 8. Hold the valve vertical, and carefully position it in the center of the hole. 9. Tighten the mounting nut. Make sure not to over-tighten it, as it can crack the porcelain. 10. Reconnect the supply tube 11. Turn on the water supply to the toilet 12. If the problem persists, tighten the mounting nut a little more.
If Water is Leaking at the Flush Valve Tools Large standard screwdriver Socket Wrench Spud Wrench Soapy sponge
Procedure 1. Follow the steps 1-3 as discussed above 2. Remove the mounting bolts of the tanks. For this, you can use a large standard screwdriver on the bolt, and a socket wrench on the nut. 3. Put the tank upside down. 4. Pull or twist off the rubber spud washer. 5. Unscrew the large locking nut from the flush valve using a spud wrench. 6. Put the tank aside. However, make sure that you place it on a bath mat or similar padding. This way, you can protect both the flooring and the tank. 7. Remove the flush valve. 8. Take out the beveled cone washer from the flush valve. 9. If they are in poor condition, replace them. If no, just use a soapy sponge and clean them. 10. Reinstall the tank, as discussed above. However, make sure that when you tighten the bolt, you have somebody to hold it level and plumb. 11. Remember, the beveled side of the cone washer must face the inside of the tank, while the beveled side of the spud washer must face the bowl.
Hence, follow the above simple steps and you can do it yourself. However, make sure that you have the necessary plumbing tools available to you.
Both Matt1 & Owen Walcher are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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