How To Fix My Leaky Toilet?

Tens of thousands of gallons of water are wasted in homes every year due to water leaks. One of the most common sources of water leaks is leaky toilets. A leaky toilet can be quite bothersome. Even if it’s just a tiny leak, it can get bigger over time and cause costly flood damage.

If you have a leaky toilet, it’s best not to wait to do something about it. You can either call for help from professional plumbers, or you can fix the leaky toilet yourself. Should you decide to go the DIY route, here are the steps that you need to follow so you can get your leaky toilet functioning optimally again.

Steps to Fixing your Leaky Toilet

1. Before anything else, you will need to turn off the water to the toilet. Find the water main shut off valve and shut it down.

2. Drain the toilet entirely, and mop off whatever remaining water there is in the bowl using rags or towels.

3. Find the water line and disconnect it from the toilet.

4. Nuts and washers secure the toilet to the floor; remove them using a wrench. Make sure they don’t get misplaced, or you’ll have problems putting the toilet back.

5. Loosen the seal, which is essentially a wax ring, by gently moving the toilet. Lift the toilet afterward and set it aside. Whatever remains of the seal should be thoroughly removed from the toilet, pipe, and floor.

6. Take the new wax seal which you just bought from the local hardware store and place it over the pipe in the floor, not on the toilet.

7. With new wax seal in place, carefully move the toilet back to its original position. To make sure that the wax ring is completely sealed to the toilet, pipe and floor, close the lid of the toilet and sit on it. You must also make sure that the toilet is level with the help of a small level.

8. Replace the washers and the nuts, but make sure you don’t screw them on too tightly. You might break the porcelain if you do that.

9. Reconnect the water line and the water back on. Check if there are any leaks.

10. Let water fill the bowl, then check the base of the toilet to make sure that there are no more leaks.

Safety First

Preferably, wear rubber gloves while doing all these, as tinkering with anything related to your septic system can make you sick with all the bacteria found in it. After fixing your leaky toilet, wash your hands using antibacterial soap. It’s also advisable to disinfect the tools you used.

Fixing a toilet is easy enough for any home owner to handle on his own. However, if you personally don’t want to mess with anything that involves your septic system or if the job is too hard for you, you can always call for help from professional plumbers. Remember that we at Beez Neez are only a phone call away. Give us a call, and we promise to send your way the best people we have.