If you notice water on the floor around the base of your toilet, you may have a leak. Toilet leaks can often be repaired quickly and easily, but it’s important to identify the source of the leak before you start emergency plumbing repairs.

More often than not, a toilet that leaks at the base is a sign of a problem in the wax ring or in the toilet bowl.

If you have an older toilet, it may be leaking because the wax ring has cracked or broken. The wax ring is what seals the bottom of the toilet to the floor. Newer toilets don’t have them anymore, but if you have one that’s more than 10 years old, it probably does.

Some newer toilets also have a new type of seal called an “O-ring” instead of a wax ring. If yours does, follow our instructions for fixing a leaky O-ring below!

Check for loose bolts: Tighten any loose bolts on the base of your toilet using a wrench. If this doesn’t solve the problem, go to step 2.

Need to replace the wax ring on your toilet? Here are some tips to get the job done.

The first thing you want to do is make sure there isn’t any water around your baseboards or walls — if there is, mop it up with paper towels so that it doesn’t damage anything else in your bathroom.

Next, remove the screws that hold the tank to its base and take off both pieces.

Then loosen but don’t remove all the screws holding the water supply lines in place.

The next step is to remove any remaining parts from under your toilet bowl such as a pipe or flange (the part that connects to your main drain line).

Next, use a plumber’s snake tool (a flexible wire) to clear out any debris clogging up your plumbing lines and remove any old wax rings by prying them out with a screwdriver or knife blade (if necessary).

Finally, apply new plumber’s putty around all joints except those connecting pipes and other parts of your toilet system together; this will help seal them so they won’t leak when water flows through them again after installing

If you do not want to do this work yourself, contact Mastercraft Plumbers of Carlsbad and Murietta, Ca. for assistance.

Contact us today for a free estimate at (760) 350-3888.

We service the San Diego and Riverside County areas and all cities in between.