Sometimes a toilet leak is immediately obvious because of the extra water on the bathroom floor. Sometimes an increase your water bill will give the problem away. Either way, a toilet leak is something that most people can repair themselves rather than something that requires a new toilet installation. Most leaks take only a few tools and a little time to fix. The parts required are inexpensive, and the directions are pretty straightforward.
The first step is determining where the problem lies. If you don't have an obvious toilet leak or water on the floor around the base of the toilet, but your water bill has increased or you can hear water running when the toilet hasn't been flushed, then you could have a flush valve leak.
Take the lid off the back of the tank, then flush the toilet. Once the tank refills, add enough dark food coloring that you can clearly see a difference in the color of the water. After about 20 minutes if any of the color is visible in the toilet bowl, you have a flush valve leak. This can waste thousands of gallons of water over time.
This toilet leak can be cause by different things. It could be that the flapper is deteriorated or broken so that it doesn't seal over the hole properly. The gasket beneath the valve could be damagee, or the overflow pipe could be split or broken. Even the tank ball could be worn out and not working the mechanism properly. Flush the toilet and look for problems in the operation like the chain getting underneath the flapper or some type of foreign material blocking the seal.
When you determine what's not working correctly, simply taking the old piece to the hardware store and purchasing new will fix the problem. Follow the instructions on the equipment--replacing the ball-cock mechanism and the flapper is simple, but be sure that you take the older flapper to the store if it needs to be replaced to be sure you get one that will fit correctly. If you've recently replaced the flapper and are now having the leak, you likely need a different type.
Another type of leak could be one cased a ball cock mechanism that somehow prevents the valve from closing so that water keeps coming into the tank and into the overflow tube. You can see this happening by looking into the tank when it's full. This is fixed by simply bending the arm so that the float-ball stops the water intake at a lower level, or by adjusting the water level adjustment clip on the fill valve.
For a toilet leak around the base, turn off the water and flush, the remove the remaining water. Remove the toilet by disconnecting the bolts on the base, and replace the wax ring around the draining hole. Lower the toilet in place, making sure it's lined up, connect and turn the water back on to make sure the toilet leak is repaired.
Photo Credits: crazytales562
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