Plumbing leaks are never fun and always stressful. They can cause major water damage to your home and waste a lot of water, which can in turn drive up the cost of your monthly water bill. This common plumbing problem becomes especially frustrating and uniquely repulsive when the leak comes from your toilet.
If your toilet is leaking from the base, don’t panic. Keep reading to learn 5 tips on how to effectively repair a leaking toilet that leaks from the base—no prior skills or experience required.
1. Verify the Location of the Leak
If you notice a puddle of water around the base of your toilet, that does not necessarily mean that your toilet is leaking from the base. The water might actually be coming from the valve or tank of the toilet but pooling around the base of the toilet.
To verify that the leak is actually coming from the base of your toilet, soak up any water that has pooled around the base of your leaking toilet. Once the area around your toilet is dry, keep an eye out for active leaking water to make sure that the water is coming from beneath the toilet itself.
2. Understand the Cause
Understanding why your toilet has sprung a leak from its base can help you more effectively repair the leak.
The most common cause of a toilet leaking from its base is seal failure. When the seal underneath the toilet wears out or malfunctions, it cannot effectively prevent water from seeping out underneath the toilet—which causes water to pool around the base of your toilet. However, loose bolts can also cause a toilet to leak from its base.
3. Try Tightening the Bolts
Before you attempt more invasive repair methods, try simply tightening the closet bolts that hold your leaking toilet flush against the bathroom floor. These bolts can loosen over time, which can cause there to be a small space between the toilet and the bathroom floor through which water can seep out.
The closet bolts at the base of your toilet should be located underneath caps. Pry off these caps using a screwdriver, then tighten each bolt with a wrench. Do not apply too much pressure when tightening the bolts in order to avoid accidentally cracking the base of the toilet.
4. Replace the Wax Gasket
The wax gasket is the seal that prevents water from leaking out of the base of your toilet. Replacing the wax gasket underneath your toilet is an invasive procedure that actually requires removing the base of the toilet from the floor.
Replacing the wax gasket
After turning off the water supply to your leaking toilet, use a wrench to unscrew the closet bolts that hold the toilet to the bathroom floor. Once the bolts are loose, carefully lift the toilet base to separate the toilet from the floor. Use a putty knife to scrape the old wax from the bottom of the toilet and the closet flange in the floor where the toilet usually sits.
Then, all you have to do is line up a new wax seal—which you should be able to purchase for $10 or less from your local hardware store—with the closet flange in the floor and set your toilet back down on top of the fresh wax seal. Press down firmly on the rim of the toilet to secure it to the wax gasket underneath it before screwing the closet bolts back into its base.
5. Call Accurate Leak Locators and Plumbing
If you’ve tried to fix your leaking toilet with no luck—or if you scared to even attempt a DIY repair for fear of making the problem worse—trust Accurate Leak Locators and Plumbing with the repair instead.
Accurate Leak Locators and Plumbing is a professional plumbing company that is based in Southern California and serves customers across the Inland Empire, Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, and beyond.
Their team of professional plumbing experts brings 30 years of experience, state-of-the-art tools and equipment, and training in all of the latest plumbing and leak location techniques to every job. The team at Accurate Leak Locators and Plumbing offers a broad variety of plumbing services and specializes in leak detection and repair. They offer leaking toilet repair services and are prepared to repair a toilet that leaks from its base.
If you are located in Southern California and are struggling with a leaking toilet that leaks from its base, give Accurate Leak Locators and Plumbing a call today to get the problem fixed quickly and get your home plumbing back in working order in no time.
