Toilet leak repair can be a simple process or one that will require a bit more time and knowledge. Leaking may be evident with a very small dripping that drips out onto your floor or your toilet may always seem to be running. It’s very annoying and can drive the cost of your water bill through the roof. Before you can think about performing toilet repair, you will have to figure out what kind of leak you have and where it’s coming from.
If you notice that the floor under or beside your toilet is always damp or wet, then you may have a leaking flush pipe. To figure out if this is your problem, flush your toilet while you keep an eye under the toilet tank. You want to watch where the pipe connects to the toilet. If you see water dripping or leaking, then you can probably fix it with just a few easy steps.
1. Shutting off the Water
2. Disconnecting the Pipe
3. Applying Silicone and Reconnecting
4. Testing
First, shut off the water supply to your toilet. Look for a cut-off valve around your toilet or along the wall that your toilet is up against. Once you find it, turn the valve. Most of them have a piece you simply turn to stop the flow of water through the pipe. If by chance yours doesn’t, you’ll have to cut off the main water supply to your house.
After the water supply has been shut off, flush your toilet. This will get rid of most the water in your toilet. You can plunge it to get the last little bit out, too. Now look at where your flush pipe connects to your toilet and you should see that there is nut you can loosen. Loosen that nut and pull the pipe away from the toilet. Most newer toilets will have a rubber compression that is easy to pull away. If your toilet is old, you may see that there are metal retaining clips that prevent you from pulling it away. In that case, you’ll have to cut them off with a hack saw. When you replace it, you’ll put in a rubber joiner.
Dry off the rubber and pipe, as well as inside the actual toilet and cistern outlet. After you have them nice and dry, apply silicone to the grommet and to both sides of the rubber seal. Keep in mind that if they are in really bad shape, you should go ahead and replace them while you have this all disconnected (take the part in to your plumbing store so they can give you the correct replacement part). Insert your flush pipe into the lower part of your water tank and put the other end into the toilet pan.
Silicone is very effective at sealing the joints so they won’t leak anymore. Tighten the toilet tank back up and wipe away any extra silicone that may be protruding. Don’t start using your toilet immediately. Let it sit for 12 hours you can turn the water supply back on and test it out to see if your handwork worked.
If you’ve just joined us in this three part series on toilet leak repair then please check out the first installment on toilet leak repair. You may also visit our toilet repair section and as always AllPlumbingRepair.com is here to help you find plumbing repair.
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