8 Reasons Your Toilet May Be Leaking

3/5/2021 (Permalink)

A leaking toilet in a Kansas City home.

Our toilets are one of the most common causes of leaks in our homes. While it may not be leaking out onto the floor, it can still be leaking inside. This can cost you money.

If there is water around the base of your toilet, you need to address it right away. There could be a lot of damage happening beneath the surface, and it may have been going on for some time.

8 Reasons Your Toilet May Be Leaking

Water leaking around your toilet can soak into the floor and beyond.

1. Cracked Tank or Bowl

While tanks and the bowls are pretty durable, they can get cracks. These often start with a small, hairline crack, but can get bigger. Toilets may get shifted or jarred and can get cracked in the back where you won’t notice them. They may have simply been faulty, as well.

2. Worn Washers

There are two large bolts that keep the tank attached to the bowl, and two more that keep the toilet bolted to the floor. If the bolts or washers get stripped, rusted out, break, or wear out, they won’t be able to hold it all together.

3. Pipe Corrosion

There could be corrosion in your pipes because of age, impurities in the water, or heavy metals in your water. Rust will develop in the metallic portions of the toilet because of this corrosion.

Pipe corrosion can often cause a lot of damage because you often don’t know it is even there. It starts inside the pipes, so it could be there for a long time before you even see any signs of trouble.

4. Float

The float is the hollow ball that floats on the surface of the water in your toilet tank. It can become unhooked, cracked, or it isn’t lined up properly, the fill valve may run too much, causing a leak. The chain may come off, or if it gets a crack, it can take on water and not work properly.

5. Faulty Supply Line

If there is any kind of damage to supply lines, it can put a major strain on your toilet. Sometimes, if the joints in a supply line come undone and break down, water starts to drip out. The rubber lining in a supply line can also start to leak after several years.

6. Worn-Out Fill Valve

The fill valve on the toilet can also wear down over time. This is often due to mineral deposits, but they can also rust. If enough builds up to warp the fill valve, it can stop working properly, preventing your toilet from shutting off and causing leakage.

7. Stuck or Worn-out Flapper

The flapper is that plug in the bottom of your tank. It releases the water when you flush. If it gets stuck, either open or closed, you have a problem. This can also happen if your handle is stuck.

If the flapper is stuck open, the fill valve will not shut off, so it will just keep running. If the flapper wears out, no longer fits properly, or gets a tear, then it will not be able to regulate the water in the tank.

8. Broken Connections

Your toilet has many different connectors that prevent water leaks. If any of these connections lose their seal, water may end up on your bathroom floor. You can check your toilet’s connections to see if there are any problems before they turn into leaks.

Water Damage From Leaks

Don’t despair over the damage caused by your leaking toilet. Call the experts at SERVPRO of Kansas City Midtown to clean it up.