It’s a mystery: You either hear a repeated water drip coming from your bathroom, or perhaps you find standing water around the base of your toilet. What’s going on in there?
Your leaking toilet is not only an annoyance, it can start to become costly, so it’s important to diagnose the problem at hand and get the leak fixed promptly.
One of the first tips to decipher if the leak is coming from your toilet is to first soak up the leak with a towel, drying up the whole area. Come back a little later and see if the leak reappears there or if the water is coming from somewhere else.
Another tip to help you determine if it is your toilet that is leaking is to add some food coloring to the tank and then wait 30 minutes. When you return, see if the water in your toilet bowl has changed color. If it has, your tank is leaking into your toilet. Or, worse, if you see colored water on the floor of the bathroom, then you know your toilet is leaking. Flush out the colored water to avoid staining the inside of your toilet, then call a plumber.
Why Your Toilet May Be Leaking
- Cracked Tank – A cracked tank could mean extensive water damage, or just a cosmetic issue. If the crack is on the inside of your tank and is more than 1/16-inch-wide, it’s best to replace your tank. Hairline cracks on the outside are mostly cosmetic and can be fixed with epoxy.
- Wax Seal – Pooling of water around the base of your toilet could mean that the wax seal around the toilet is faulty and needs to be replaced. Calling the expert plumbers at Lindstrom Plumbing will ensure the wax seal will be replaced efficiently and cleanly.
- Pipe Corrosion – Pipe corrosion can sometimes be the most damaging of reasons for your toilet leaking because it starts inside your pipes and you don’t know there’s something wrong until it could be too late. You may find corrosion in your pipes or toilet assembly due to age, impurities in the water, etc. Rust will develop in the metallic portions of the toilet assembly because of corrosion.
- Improper Float – If the float assembly in your tank (the large plastic ball attached to the rod in your tank) stops working, it forces your toilet to continuously run, therefore potentially overflowing.
- Worn Washers – There are two large bolts that keep the tank attached to the bowl, and if your washers or bolts are worn, they can loosen their hold, thus causing leakage on the floor from your toilet.
- Tank-Bowl Gasket – The tank-bowl gasket is a 3-inch gasket that works with two large bolts and washers to keep the bowl attached to the tank, all while staying leak free. If the bolts or gasket starts to corrode due to chemical buildup or age, a leak will develop on the floor.
- Faulty Feed Line – The tube/pipe that provides water to the toilet every time you flush it is called the feed line. If the connection to the toilet comes loose or worn out, a leak may develop.
Get Help From A Professional Plumber
If you’re experiencing any of these issues and are in the Fort Lauderdale area, call Lindstrom Plumbing and let our expert plumbers help solve the case and keep your bathroom free of leaks and potential damage.