There are many things that can cause water to appear near your toilet, and Pure Plumbing can help you solve most of these problems with our years of knowledge and experience. The most likely cause of water near the toilet, however, is simple condensation on the outside of the tank. This is caused by the interaction between the cold water inside the tank and warmer air inside your bathroom. To see if condensation is taking place, all you need to do is wipe the tank with a towel and see if more water sweats from it. If this is the problem, all you need is a toilet tank liner or an anti-sweat valve, and we can easily install one of those valves for you.
If condensation isn’t the problem, the next most likely culprit is a leak inside the tank itself. To check for a leak, just remove the tank lid and pour a small amount of food coloring into the water. Leave your toilet alone for about 15 minutes while the coloring sets. If any water on the floor is that color when you return, then you’ll know that there’s a leak. Thankfully, the colored water will help you find cracks in the tank, loose bolts, loose rubber seals or an old tank-to-bowl sponge gasket. If the tank is cracked, then you’ll have to have a new tank installed. If you suspect the sponge gasket, then you’ll have to have the tank removed from the bowl and replace the gasket or washers as needed. The fill valve’s shank gasket could also be loose, but this can be fixed by just slowly tightening the the shank nut under the tank. If it persists, the gasket will need to be replaced.
Another possible culprit is a leaking shut-off valve, but this can be easily fixed by having the valve tightened or replaced. Water could also leak from the nuts on either side of the supply line. If that’s the case, you may need to replace the supply washers. If the line and shut-off valve are a single unit, it’s best if you have it replaced with a separate line and valve.
The last of the usual suspects is a bad wax ring beneath the toilet. When this happens, you should have the ring replaced and also have your waste lines checked for a blockage since the biggest reason for leakages under the toilet is a backup of waste water.
There are other possible reasons for a leaking toilet, but these are the most likely culprits. The first thing you should do in any of these cases is turn off the main flow of water into your home. Once you’ve done that, contact Pure Plumbing at (702) 710-7388 to set up an appointment with our experts. You can rest easy knowing that we will work hard to fix any toilet leak to your satisfaction.
