6 Reasons your Toilet might be Leaking at the Base

You must have experienced your feet landing in a puddle of water unknowingly as you enter your bathroom. It could be due to the leakage in your toilet. Toilets can leak from the tank, cracks in the bowl, the water supply line, or the base. Here are six common reasons why your toilet may be leaking from the base and how you can fix them.

  1. Condensation of Water

One of the most common causes of water around your toilet is condensation. When cold water enters the toilet tank of your toilet, the surface temperature of your toilet is changed on the outside of tank. If weather is warmer in your house, then the water can condense on the outer surface of your toilet. This water runs down the toilet and accumulate around it. If such is the case with you, then you could be thankful that there is no leakage.

  1. Clogged Drain Line:

If you detect the leakage from the bottom of your toile and your toilet is also getting easily clogged, then you might have a clogged drain line. The drain line transports the flushed water away from the house. A blocked drain line can exert strain on the wax ring at the base of your toilet, causing it to break and leak. If you feel this is the case, contact a plumber to unclog the drain line.

  1. Worn out Wax Ring

Deteriorated wax ring seals could be the other reason for the leakage in your toilet. These wax reason get worn out with the lapse of time or with the use of toilet chemical cleaners. You can easily replace these wax rings and put a full stop on leakage.

  1. Loose Flange Bolts

Your toilet of secured with two bolts to the floor. Remove the caps with care before tightening the bolts. The bolts secure the seal between the toilet's bottom surface and a wax seal. If these bolts become loose, the seal between the toilet and the floor becomes less effective, and water will escape under pressure, as when flushing. You can easily tighten the bolts with a pair of pliers or a crescent wrench. Remove the plastic caps from the bottom of the toilet and twist the bolts clockwise until they're snugly in place. Flange bolts that cannot be tightened may require some oil or replacement. If they appear to spin indefinitely, they may have come off their "track" on the flange or the flange itself may be damaged.

  1. Cracked Toilet Bowl

It’s highly unlikely that a toilet bowl will have deep cracks to cause the leakage, but sometime accidents happen, and deep cracks appear. If the crack is wider than one-sixteenth of an inch, then it would be best to replace the entire bowl.

  1. Leakage in Water Supply Line

A leaky water supply line, the hose that goes from the bottom of the toilet tank to the water supply valve on the wall or floor, can cause water to pool at the base of the toilet.

Turn off the water by twisting the water supply valve (either on the wall or the floor). Tighten the nut on the hose (where it links to the tank) and the nut on the valve with a wrench. Restart the water supply, flush the toilet, and check for leaks.

Bottom Line: An ignored leakage can damage your floor, shoots up your monthly water bills and wastes a lot of water. Its best to detect the location of the leak and fix it as early as possible.