In article ,
"cshenk" wrote:

"Pdk Pdk" wrote

A home toilet has developed a slight leak at the base of the toilet
where it connects to the floor.

Should I use some kind of caulking around the base? But if it's
more serious, I don't want to maybe have the water leaking through the
floorboards to the ceiling below. Hopefully it's a simple home repair
(and removing the toilet is NOT simple for me), or should I simply call
a plumber? Thanks.

Your wax ring has gone bad and caulking the base will only trap the water
into the floorboards so it leaks to the ceiling below. Sorry. If you can't
lift the toilet and replace the seat, you'll ned to get a handyman. This is
a simple one most handymen can do. True plummer rates not required.

To protect yourself now, yu should turn off the water tot he taiolet and use
a different one (I assume 2 as this one is upstairs).

But before you condemn the wax seal, don't forget that water flows
downhill. I had a little water on the floor next to the base of the
toilet a few weeks back, and it turned out to be nothing but a loose
tank-mounting bolt.

A few years ago, we called in a plumber at work to fix a leak that all
assumed to be a bad wax seal. When he pulled the toilet, he didn't like
the looks of the drain pipe, so he started jack hammering up the
concrete floor. $1500 later, we still had water on the floor around the
toilet.

Turned out that the water heater, directly above in the attic, was
leaking. Water was running down inside the wall and seeping behind the
toilet.

The moral is, diagnosis is everything.