All Plumbing Repair Blog

A leaking toilet doesn’t only annoy you with the constant sound and mess you’re always cleaning up, but it can also take a toll on your water bill. If you are “into the green” then you know neglecting toilet leak repair can lead to wasting precious water. In toilet repair, toilet leak repair doesn’t always have to mean expensive plumbing bills (although there are times you’ll need to bring in a specialist). There are toilet leak repair tricks that you can try before calling in the big boys. If you need to find a local plumber then we can help you out with that too.

What’s Causing the Leak?

First of all, you should know there are multiple reasons your toilet may be leaking. It could be something minimal like the wax ring is wearing away; easily fixed, or something much more complex in that case you’ll need to hire a plumber for this toilet repair

Replacing the Wax Ring

Deteriorated wax ring – Sometimes toilet leak repair can be as simple as replacing one piece. Your wax ring may be deteriorating if you always notice a sewer smell in your bathroom or if there is water leaking from the bottom of the toilet when you flush. The wax ring is under your toilet. Yep, you’ll have to do a little dirty work here if you want to do this toilet repair yourself. But it isn’t that bad, really!

First, you’ll need to have a replacement wax ring ready. You can often find the brand name stamped right on the rim (somewhere around the tank or on the bottom of the tank), as well as the model number. If you can find this, then you can easily take it to your local hardware store and they’ll be able to give you the ring you need. If not, then this toilet leak repair job will just have to be a bit interrupted. Once you get to the old ring, you can take that with you to the store and come back to finish this toilet leak repair up.

Look for the water shut off valve along the wall near your toilet and turn it off (usually just by turning the knob). If you can’t find one, then shut off your main water supply to the house while you do this. Now that the water’s off, flush the toilet a few times. This is very important in many toilet repairs, remember we’re trying to avoid leaks. Tip: hold down the handle while it is flushing to get more water out. Now plunge out as much of the remaining water as possible.

Have a small towel handy and disconnect the water from the water supply to your toilet. This is that same supply line that you turned the knob on earlier. Expect a small amount of water to dribble out. Loosen the bolts that hold down your toilet on each side if you can. Many times, the nuts won’t want to budge and you’ll have to saw them off. If you’re apprehensive about sawing them off you may want to get a plumber for this toilet leak repair or any other toilet repair job you may have.

Lift the toilet up (it’s handy to have a buddy around for toilet leak repair!). Set it aside upside down (layout newspaper, towels, or whatever to set it on). Now you should see a wax ring with a yellow tinted color on the floor. Sometimes, it will stick to the bottom of your toilet, which is why you placed it upside down to the side.

Remove the old ring. Put the new one down. Put the toilet back. Sit on it and gently rock until it is firmly in place. Put your bolts back in the bottom sides of your toilet. Re-connect your water and turn the water back on. Now flush and test! Your toilet repair should be completed now.

Tip: Here’s a handy trick you can use in your next toilet repair. Before you go trying to do toilet leak repair all on your own, you’ll need to know where the leak is coming from. It can be a challenge to determine where a slow leak is coming from, though. Use this trick to try to tell where it’s coming from. All you’ll need is food coloring! Put a handful of food coloring drops into the tank of your toilet and let it sit. Half an hour or so later go check on it. Is the water in the toilet bowl turning the color of the food color you used? If so, your leak is between the tank and bowl.

Of course if you can’t replace your toilets wax ring yourself then AllPlumbingRepair.com has the solution to your toilet repair needs.