The reason that toilets leak at the base is usually related to one of two things. First, the mounting bolts that fasten the toilet to the floor may need tightening. Second, the wax ring that makes a tight seal between the bottom of the toilet and the drain pipe in the floor may need replacing.
When a toilet leaks at the base, with water pooling on your bathroom floor, it's typically due to the failure of the wax gasket that seals the toilet to the floor. This seal should make a watertight connection between the toilet and floor. A leak often means that the wax seal may need to be replaced.
Obviously, a toilet leaking from base is the last thing you'd want to see when you're off to work in the morning or trying to run some errands for the day. Rather than waiting for your bathroom to turn into an indoor swimming pool, call for local plumber services immediately.
If the water appears to be leaking from between the tank and bowl, near the center, you may need a new tank-to-bowl sponge gasket, or new washers for the tank-to-bowl bolts. If water is leaking from the tank to bowl gasket it will tend to leak more often when the toilet is flushed.
The main signs of a leaking toilet may include a damp area on the floor around the bottom of the toilet, a spongy feeling in the floor at the bottom of the toilet seat, signs of dampness on the ceiling in the room underneath your toilet, or the occasional smell of sewer gas and the flooring coming up in the area around ...
It costs between $150 and $300 to fix a leaking toilet in most cases. The cost would be a lot more if the leak has caused damage to your floor or if it's a recurring problem.
The wax ring is exactly what it sounds like: a ring made of sticky wax that helps form a watertight seal between the bottom of the toilet and the sewer pipe. It requires no maintenance and can last 30 or more years, often as long as the toilet itself. But sometimes wax rings can dry out, crumble, and fail prematurely.
Again, leaky water is a telltale and common sign of a bad wax ring. If you do not regularly see moisture or puddling water under your toilet, you may be fine. Leaks can, however, happen where you do not see them, under the finished floor and into the subfloor.
$90-$120 is a good ballpark.
If you are having other plumbing work done, they might do it cheaper, and if they have a large travel fee, you may pay closer to $150. Unless there is a problem, it should take them under a half hour, whereas, it might take a novice 1.5-2 hours.
Epoxy can also be effective for cracks at the base of the toilet, such as cracks or breakage around the bolts that secure the toilet to the floor. You can try repairing cracks under the water line with epoxy, but remember that it often doesn't work. In that case, replacement is the only option.
How do I know if I need to replace my toilet flapper? If your toilet is running after every flush or the toilet won't flush fully, you may need to replace the flapper. You can see if the flapper is old or if the chain length is too long or short by opening the tank lid.
Whenever you remove a toilet for any reason, you will need to replace the wax ring seal between the toilet and the toilet flange (sometimes called a closet flange) attached to the floor. A wax seal is used because it resists mold and bacteria and retains its sealing ability after years of use.
Replacing the wax ring is as easy as sliding the new piece onto the bolts in the floor, then sliding the toilet down to make a tight seal.
Since the water flows down the sewer, leaking toilets don't necessarily leave any signs of a leak, until you get the bill. The average leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water per day. That's over 6,000 gallons a month ($70.06*) for just one leaking toilet!
When a toilet bowl or tank starts to form a crack, replacement is the only option. Sealing it with plumbers' putty is not a real solution, and the toilet may crack further and leak water all over your floors!
Labor. Labor to install a toilet can start at $100 to $250 for a one-piece toilet and range up to $400 to $900 for a wall-hung toilet.
Use a wrench to carefully tighten a compression nut. For a threaded connection, the supply line will need to be removed before tightening the nut. For each type of connection, check for leaks by turning the water back on. Continue alternating between tightening and testing, until the leak stops.
A silent leak can be caused by a fill valve set too high.
The fill valve is the part of the toilet that is responsible for refilling the tank after being flushed. Over time, a worn or out of alignment fill valve can become a problem, cause a leak, and wear on valve's components and parts.