Leaking Toilet Repair Instructions
How do I diagnose a leaking toilet? How easily can it be fixed? Can I do it myself?
The Source Of The Leakage:
You got water leaking from your toilet, but don’t know where it's coming from? No, problem!
Before, you get all stressed out, relax, most toilet problems can easily be repaired, and yes, you can probably do it yourself. If you have a leaking toilet, you should first consider checking the supply line or the shut off valve to see if it is defective or not. If everything looks good in these two locations, check between the toilet bowl and the tank to see if there’s any leakage history there, if so, then, the tank to bowl gasket is probably bad and needs replacement. But, if the gasket is ok, then, check around the base of the toilet, the leak is probably being caused by the old wax ring in the bottom of the toilet, meaning that you will have to pull and reset the toilet. Fixing A Leaking Toilet:
Pulling and resetting a toilet is one of the easiest plumbing jobs and, anybody can do it; however, most people will chose not to put their hands on it due to the nature of the work and, that’s alright, not everyone is inclined to do this kind of job.
If you really want to learn how to stop a toilet leak and save some money, you came to the right place; below I will guide you through an easy step by step. But before you start working in the toilet leak, I need to inform you about the tools and materials that you will need to have with you. You will need the followings: a ½ inch or 7/16 wrench, a flat head screw driver, a putting knife, latex gloves and a piece of rag, a new toilet supply line (in case if you need it), and a tub of white or clear caulking prior to start the task.
Steps To fix A Leaking Toilet:
1 – Shut the water off behind the toilet or in the main water shut off valve before you do anything.
2 – Unscrew the water supply line from the bottom of the toilet tank. 3 – Unscrew the nuts and bolts from the bottom of the toilet. 4 – Make sure you flush the remaining of the water prior to pulling it. 5 – Pull the toilet slowly in horizontal position and sit it on the rag. 6 – Remove the old wax ring and clean the toilet flange, check for cracks and leakage, clean the floor around the pipe including old caulking. 7 – Clean the base of the toilet from old wax ring remaining and debris.
10 – Place the new wax ring in the flange and then sit the toilet slowly over it, watch for the screws or bolts to make sure that it is centered correctly. 11 – Once the toilet is in place, make sure that you screw the bolts but, be careful, does not over tight it; it might crack the toilet base. 12 – Once the toilet is firmly in place, screw the supply line back in the bottom of the tank and turn the water back on then check for leaks, if everything looks alright, you have one last thing to do. 13 – Put caulking around the toilet to seal the base and allow a couple of hours to allow the caulking to dry. That’s it, you are done, mission accomplished, congrats! You pulled and reset your first toilet. So, if you followed the above steps to fix a leaking toilet, by now, you probably already figure it out how simple this task really is and it probably took around 1hour to get the task done. If you have any further questions about toilet issues, please, send us an email.
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