How do you fix a toilet that leaks between the floor and bottom of the toilet???

Question

It leaks only after you flush the toilet a lot.
Will caulking around the bottom fix the problem or make a bigger problem??

Answer 1

You need to take the toilet off the floor and replace the wax ring that fits between the toilet and the floor flange. It is an easy job. You just need to be careful to get the ring on straight so it makes a good seal.

Turn off the water. Flush. Remove standing water with a sponge. Remove the supply tube. Remove the tank from the bowl. Remove the nuts from the anchor bolts and lift the toilet. The wax ring will either be stuck to the floor or to the bottom of the bowl. The wax ring may have a plastic sleeve or it may not. Go to the hardware store and buy the same kind. Reverse the order for reassembly being careful not to overtighten the anchor bolts lest you crack the bowl.

Do not caulk. It will only cause the leak to go into the floor beneath the toilet.

Answer 2

To prevent your floor from rotting out from the moisture, you really need to have the toilet removed and reset. Your problem sounds like the seal on the wax ring has broken. If you were to just caulk around the base, you would just be trapping the leaking water not fixing the leak.

You can have a plumber do this for you or it is a very doable DYI job. You just need to be able to lift the toilet up and off the wax ring (after removing the hold-down nuts first of course).

There is a rubber "boot" that can be used instead of the wax rings that seems to work very well. I have used this only once and just recently, so I can not give glowing reviews but setting the toilet was easier than with a wax ring. If the rubber boot is sealed correctly to the bottom of the toilet, then setting it is a breeze - boot just slides into drain pipe.

Again caulking without resetting the toilet will only cause more harm than good. I hope that I have helped with your question and given you some extra ideas.

Answer 3

Everyone who said you need to replace the was seal at the bottom of the toilet is correct. You can call a plumber if you like but a wax ring only costs a few dollars and a plumber will cost you a lot more. The main thing you would have to be careful of if you decide to do the job yourself is to make sure that when you bolt the toilet back down you do not, I repeat, do not tighten down the bolts too much. You may break the porcelain base of the toilet and then, depending on the type of toilet you have, end up spending more to replace the toilet base than you would have originally paid a plumber.

Answer 4

The water needs to be shut off at incoming spout. Remove the toilet from the floor and replace the wax gasket. Tighten the toilet back down carefully a little at a time one side and the other until the base of the toilet is flush with the floor. That should do it. Good Luck.

Answer 5

Buy a "Multi-kwik" from a diy store. It fits onto the back of the pan and connects to the soil pipe. It forms a vacumn when it is installed so it will not leak. When i fitted my new bathroom at home i had this problem. Chalk will not help( the leak will stop for a few days and reappear when the water builds up behind the chalk. The integeral seal has gone you will have to get a multikwik they come in different sizes and angles to make fitting easier. Good luck.

Answer 6

If it appears to leak only after being used a lot, it is probably not a leak at all: it is condensation, from the cold water entering the tank, chilling it, and condensing water from the air. (Bathrooms are usually quite humid.) To tell for sure, let the toilet sit for several hours unused, then check for moisture on the tank, on the supply pipe, and on the floor next to the bowl. (A bit of toilet tissue is handy for this.) Everything should be absolutely dry; if it is not, proceed accordingly. Tank condensation can be handled by using a vent fan to bring in dry air, or by putting a cover on the tank.

Answer 7

You need to replace the wax seal. Caulking around the toilet will not help. You can get the wax seals at any home inprovement store.

Answer 8

YOU NEED TO TURN THE WATER OFF AT THE SHUT OFF VALVE BEHIND THE TOILET FIRST THEN YOU FLUSH OUT ALL THE WATER. UNSCREW THE BOLTS THAT ARE NEAR THE FLOOR. REMOVE THE TOILET THERE IS A WAX RING THAT GOES ONTO THE PIPE GOING INTO THE FLOOR YOU WILL NEED TO REPLACE THAT WAX RING CAREFULLY AND THAT SHOULD FIX THE PROB

Answer 9

sounds like you have to pull the toilet from the base and replace the wax seal over the drain pipe. not a real expensive job, just time consuming

Answer 10

There is a waxy type of seal, in the form of a ring that probably needs replacing. A local hardware store should have it, or get a plumber.