toilet leaking at the base

my toilet started to leak at the base.

I have replaced the wax ring twice, bolted down the toilet. it's flush not rocking yet the toilet is still leaking water at the base. it's a small amount of water that usually appears gradually after use. the toilet sits flush on the floor.

should I use water color to try to isolate where the water is coming from?
is it possible the water is leaking somewhere from the tank down through the base and on to floor?
if there is a crack how would I go about finding this?

any suggestions?

I would suspect a hairline crack. Try adding antifreeze into the tank and watch if the pool of water gets bigger. Also, if the toilet is not used, and the wax ring is working correctly, there should not be any water at all on the floor. Start with a close inspection, especially between the tank and bowl. Could be as simple as the gasket between them.

A little hint, lay dry toilet paper around the base of the toilet. It will wick up the water and makes it quick to ID where the leak is originating from.

what does the antifreeze do?

if there was a gasket issue between tank and bowl wouldn't that be noticeable?

Some hairline cracks will hold water. If you add antifreeze, it will allow the water to leak out faster.

Without pictures, it is hard to help you. What is the toilet fastened to? Are you sure you only need one wax gasket? do you have a clog downstream from the toilet, and it is backing up through the wax ring? Some times, you have to take many steps to find the problem. I assume you see clear water emitting from the base of the toilet. Do you feel any wetness flowing down to the base from the gasket between the tank and bowl? How old is this toilet? Are you securing the wax to the base of the toilet, or are you placing it on the hole, then seating the toilet to it?

yes clear water coming from the base. if I put antifreeze will that do any damage? why not just food coloring in the tank?

toilet/tank are bolted together so too difficult to put the wax ring on the bottom of the toilet so I am seating the toilet on top of the wax ring.
my next step if to take the bowl and tank apart flip the bowl upside down to inspect for any cracks, put the wax ring on perhaps doubling up
would like to know where the water is coming from before I go through all that if possible.

Can you tilt the toilet to either the left or right side to inspect the bottom of the toilet?

When you flush the toilet put your hand on the back side of the
Bowl just below we're the tank bolts to the bowl you are checking to
see if the tank to bowl gasket is leaking check your thank to bowl bolts
check inside the tank (sometimes) the bottom of the tank
will start to chip and or crack

we do hear a trickling noise back by the tank area. no direct water under the tank which leads me to think the tank might be leaking somewhere into the bowl. any thoughts if this could be causing the water leaking from the base? any thoughts on how I might verify? would food coloring in the tank work?

Food coloring is normally used to determine if your flapper needs replacement. The colored water will leak from the tank into the bowl which indicates your flapper seal is bad. You can use food coloring if it will help determine if wetness appears on the ground around the base, but begins by trickling down the exterior side of the bowl.

if you hear trickiling do you also hear your toilet refilling
is the bowl wet .....from condensation?????

wouldnt water leaking from the flap or tank bolts just go into the bowl ? or is there some other place it would go?

does the trickling sound mean there is an issue with the tank gasket or flapper? how does water leaking from the tank into the bowl create water on the floor? would some food color in the tank validate this is the source?

As said before, if you have water on the floor, food coloring is usually not necessary. If you want to check the seal on the flapper in the tank, you can use food coloring to verify that water in leaking from the tank into the bowl, but that would not cause water on the floor.

A toilet will leak on the floor for only 6 reasons.

1) Wax ring not seated correctly.
2) A major back up blowing out the wax ring.
3) The gasket between the tank and bowl.
4) the rubber washers under the bolts supporting the tank to the bowl.
5) A crack in the porcelain.
6) Condensation.

Is it possible for you to not use this toilet for a couple days and see if you still get water at the base. Putting food color in will only stain the floor if you have a leak. Get down on the floor with a flashlight and look at the bolts and the gasket between the tank and the bowl. If everything looks dry then keep looking and have someone flush the toilet and watch for any water leakage. If there is no water after about 2 or three flushes then that part is probably ok. Next check the supply line and the valve area for any water. If no water then your gasket is leaking or a hairline crack in trap under toilet. Let us know what you find and we can go from there.

havasu said:

Food coloring is normally used to determine if your flapper needs replacement. The colored water will leak from the tank into the bowl which indicates your flapper seal is bad. You can use food coloring if it will help determine if wetness appears on the ground around the base, but begins by trickling down the exterior side of the bowl.

Click to expand...

Food colouring is definitely the way to find out.

I have used something like this , in stead of a wax ring . Clean off ALL the wax from the bottom of the toilet . I pealed off the self sticky from the " gasket " and used E6000 adhesive to glue the gasket to the bottom of the toilet . Let dry overnight .

Carefully install .

Wyr
God bless

I once had a toilet that still leaked after I had replaced the wax ring twice. When I took a closer look, I found a notable crack in the 3" PVC pipe just below where it connected to the PVC toilet flange. I used a Fluidmaster waxless ring, an older plastic style with a large O-ring. It allowed the drain to get below the crack and stop the leakage.
As for inspecting the bottom of the toilet, after turning off the water, I flush the toilet. Then I use a turkey baster to squirt the rest of the water in the tank down the flush hole. Then I take a bucket of water and dump it into the bowl, which leaves a little bit of water to clear out with a small paper cup. Then I can tilt the toilet up to inspect and clean the bottom of the bowl.
"The more you look, the more you see" and "If you don't look, you don't see"