Toilet leaking at base

[AMS1]

Hello

I’m having a problem with water leaking from around the base of my bathroom toilet.

I noticed this a while ago (a few months maybe?) but oddly it doesn’t seem to be a regular thing – it will seep for a few days, then it’ll be dry for a week or so, then it’ll start seeping from the base again.

It’s not condensation as the rest of the toilet including the cistern is bone dry.

I did get a plumber to come out to look at it a few weeks ago (typically, by the time I was able to book him it had stopped leaking and had pretty much dried up) and he replaced the seal around the large plastic pipe that runs from the back of the toilet out of the bathroom wall.

Things had been fine since then (about 3 weeks), no leaking whatsoever, and I was just starting to relax and believe that whatever the plumber did had sorted the problem. However this weekend it has started to leak again.

On closer inspection I can see a hairline crack running from where the base of the toilet meets the floor to about 3 inches up the base (at the front). I don’t know if this might be the cause of the seeping (I thought the space behind the base at the front was hollow?) I can only presume the hairline crack has occurred recently as I’ve never noticed it when cleaning the toilet before (not that it’s that visible if you’re not looking properly).

The toilet itself is fairly old (I would say 30+ years) and one of those council house ones with the plastic cistern.

Do I need to replace the toilet or can something be done about this seeming irregular leaking?

Thank you.

 

[HERTS P&D]

New toilet needed.

Andy

 

[longdogs]

it's quite unusual for a toilet to crack on the inside of the bowl although it does happen. I have recently replaced a toilet which had a huge crack near the base but was not leaking.

As you say, there is a gap between the outer skin and the actual bowl. Usually it's a leak from the pan connector where it joins the ceramic. Water sometimes runs down the outside back of the pan and pools around the base giving the impression that the toilet itself is leaking.

To test. hold a piece of tissue at the back of the toilet, under the connector and flush. See if the tissue is wet.

 

[AMS1]

Thank you for taking the trouble to reply guys - I really appreciate it.

squeaky - when I came home from work tonight there was a little bit of 'leakage' around the rim of the base unit, which I dried off with tissue. For the rest of the night the toilet wasn't used (we have a downstairs toilet as well) and it was dry when I came up to check at 9.30pm.

I did what you said and held some folded tissue underneath the pan connector and flushed and lo and behold the tissue got wet. Not loads, but definitely noticeable.

As i mentioned earlier I got a plumber out a few weeks ago who went out and bought a replacement pan connector ... but because my toilet is old the pan connector he'd bought didn't fit the pipework at the back of my toilet, so he whacked a load of silicone round the top part of the connector and bunged it in, saying that would do the trick.

(I would provide a photograph but my phone has just died on me and needs charging.)

Do you think that's the problem? It just seems weird because even before Christmas and before the pan connector was replaced there would be times when the base would be dry for weeks and then start to seep again. Also, the water seems to be more prominent at the front of the base, rather than the back where the leak appears to be (and the floor isn't on a slant so it's not gravity).

I really hope it's just a case of trying to source a pan connector that'll fit my older toilet and not get the toilet replaced because of the tiling, plumbing and flooring ramifications.

Cheers again!

(edited to add: the plumber didn't have any silicone with him so I ended up going in my shed and providing him with some stuff that I had).

 

[longdogs]

Siliconing around the pan connector should work so long as the whole area
is dry and not used for a few hours afterwards. Trouble is, silicone is normally only used after discovering a leak so the area is wet.

 

[newbuildinstaller]

ooooooh rough plumber!

 

[sammfol3y]

First, you might need to replace your toilet and second, try a different plumber who delivers quality work..

 

[longdogs]

ooooooh rough plumber!

Could I get a job with British Gas

 

[kasal]

id just buy a new bog from b&q only £50