water intermittently gushing up through toilet closet bolt hole during refill

This problem just started this evening. Our Kohler toilet is about 5 year old. Water has begun to intermittently gush up through the hole for one of the closet bolts at the base when the toilet refills. This only lasts during the refill process. And it only happens intermittently, as mentioned.

When it first happened I noticed that the nut had actually come off of the right closet bolt. When I tried to re-thread it with the plastic fitting that goes between the nut and the porcelain it wouldn't catch. So I screwed the nut back on as tight as I could for now (of course this happens on a Sunday evening) without the plastic spacer. It seemed to be working fine then. But after about a half dozen more flushes it seems to have loosened again.

The water that gushes through the hole onto the floor is clear and doesn't smell.

I'm going to have to call a plumber in the morning, but will greatly appreciate if folks here can offer theories as to what the problem is.

Thanking you in advance!

Wax seal requires replacement

Thanks Matt30.

The plot thickens with this problem. Independent of flushing the toilet the problem occurred again when the washing machine was draining. It may be that all three incidents incidents of water gushing out through that hole are directly related to water draining from the washing machine. The first two times it happened as the toilet was refilling. The third time it was unrelated to the toilet being flushed, but seemed clearly related to the water draining from the washing machine. And it stopped when the washing machine drainage finished.

My wife was running a lot of laundry. Our washing machine's waste line runs through an exterior wall and connects with the main waste line for the entire house. So while it seems that the wax seal is broken, what is the possible connection with the waste water draining from the washing machine?

Your washer waste water is backing up into the bottom of the toilet, and has blown out your wax seal. It is possible by replacing the wax seal and cinching down that nut (careful, it is a porcelain toilet and will crack if too tight) the water will follow the path of least resistance and down the sewer line rather than up through the break in the wax. Total DIY cost is about $6. Cost to have a plumber will be around $120. You do the math on this one.

Thanks havasu. I'll definitely be relieved if all that needs to be done is to replace the wax seal.

The bathtub drain has been running slow for the last couple of days. So maybe there's a substantial clog that has been increasing the water pressure within the waste line, and that will need to be cleared as well.

I wish I trusted myself enough to try to fix the seal myself. But having no experience at all with this type of repair it probably makes the most sense for me to have a professional check it out and take care of it. It definitely helps for me to have an idea of what might be the problem, though! I really appreciate the responses I have gotten here.

Sitting on my laptop can not judge how mechanical a viewer is, so I always like to give options. What we here find the most rewarding is when a homeowner tackles a project like this themselves. We are always waiting in the "wings" to give you a hand, and you'd be surprised what could be done. I too will call a plumber for a clog, because it is just not worth my time and trouble to lug in a huge drain clearing apparatus to snake the line. As they say, "we all gotta pick our own battles!"

Btw, the diagnoses offered here were correct. And sure enough there were roots in the sewer pipe that had to be snaked out. There's no way I would have attempted that job. The wax seal was half disintegrated. So the water pressure from the washing machine drainage was more than what remained of the seal could withstand.

Once again, thank you guys for your excellent advice! It was really reassuring just to have a good educated guess about what was wrong. The Interwebs can be a really good thing at times!

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