Do you see water puddled near the toilet? Don’t put your head in the sand. Left unaddressed, your toilet will continue leaking a little bit with each flush, allowing dirty water to pool on the bathroom floor and potentially causing expensive mold damage and rot in the subfloor.
A toilet oozing water at the base often signifies a damaged wax ring. This piece of equipment is supposed to form a tight seal between the toilet base and the drainpipe. When it breaks, water may escape every time you flush. Fortunately, it’s easy to find the source of the leak and find the problem. If you conclude the wax ring needs to be replaced, we advise hiring a plumber for qualified toilet repair.
Test Your Leaky Toilet
Sometimes, a nearby leak can make the toilet appear to be leaking at the base. Follow these steps to find out precisely where the water is escaping from.
Check for Condensation
The “leak” around your toilet might not be a leak at all. Rather, water vapor might be condensing on the bowl or tank and running down onto the floor. To check for this, wipe up any standing water with a rag and flush the toilet. Look closely —if no additional water pools around the base, condensation is the likely cause. Running the exhaust fan when you shower is an easy solution.
Examine the Toilet Tank
Feel around the exterior of the tank for any moisture. To rule out condensation, dry up any droplets with a paper towel. Then, look again, looking for loose bolts or cracked porcelain leaking water onto the floor. Tighten any loose bolts you notice. If the tank is broken, you’ll need to replace your toilet.
Inspect the Water Hose
Look at the cold-water supply line on the backside of the toilet. A loose connection, broken hose or malfunctioning shut-off valve sometimes can cause a leak. If tightening the fittings doesn’t resolve the issue, you may need a plumber to replace the water supply hose.
Tighten the Tee Bolts
If these troubleshooting tips don’t help, your toilet is more likely than not leaking at the base like you suspected. Before calling a plumber, try tightening the tee bolts that secure the toilet to the floor. You may need to pry off the decorative plastic caps with a putty knife or flathead screwdriver to access the bolt at the bottom of. Be careful not to screw the bolt too tight, as this could break the porcelain. If the bolts spin freely, you could need to replace them.
Look for Signs of a Worn-Out Wax Ring
If bolting the toilet tighter to the floor doesn’t stop the leaking, a faulty wax ring could be the culprit after all. Besides water soaking the floor around the toilet, you may smell a sewage stink, indicating a broken sewer line seal. And if the toilet rocks back and forth, this might mean it’s sitting on a broken flange, the piece of equipment that connects the flush system to the plumbing line. A rocking toilet might also point to a soft subfloor resulting from the leak, which requires immediate attention to prevent the problem from getting worse.
Hire a Plumber to Replace the Wax Ring
If you discover that a faulty wax ring is indeed the problem, repairing it involves removing the toilet, replacing the ring and reinstalling the toilet. While it’s possible to do the repair without a plumbing license, DIY toilet removal is not recommended. Here’s why you should leave the job to a certified plumber:
- Porcelain is a surprisingly delicate material. If you whack the toilet on the floor or hit it too hard with a plumbing tool, it could crack, forcing you to pay for a toilet replacement along with everything else.
- Lifting and lowering the heavy plumbing fixture is a two-person task. Even then, poor lifting techniques could leave you with an injured back.
- Checking for water-damaged subflooring requires a trained eye. And if any damage has been done, it should be fixed/repaired before reinstalling the toilet, something a plumber can help coordinate.
- If you determine the entire flange at the bottom of the toilet is damaged, it will need to be replaced. This is even more difficult than replacing the wax ring.
- Removing the toilet, making the necessary change and reinstalling it can take a few hours, if not longer. You doubtlessly have better things you’d rather be doing, giving you yet another reason to leave the task to a plumber.
Schedule Toilet Repair with an Expert Plumber
At Gordon's Service Experts, fixing toilet leaks is one of our fortes. Whether you go through the troubleshooting tips outlined above before reaching out, or you want us to handle the entire problem from start to finish, we’ve got you covered. Every job is backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee,* so sit back, take it easy, and let us complete the repair. To schedule reliable toilet repair in your community, please contact Gordon's Service Experts today!
*Not applicable to the Advantage Program. See your signed Advantage Program Agreement for full details and exclusions. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee is subject to certain restrictions and limitations as set forth in the applicable Terms and Conditions.