Interesting toilet leak
 

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Jul 1, 1:15*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:
Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

"Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that. "

Relax.

Replacing the wax ring is *maybe* a 30 minute job from when you first
decide to do it until you're all cleaned up and sucking on a beverage.

I always keep a spare wax ring in the shop "just in case" I need to
pull the toilet.

It's a leftover habit from when the kids were young and all sorts of
things found their way into the toilet.

The "sneakiest" was the toilet paper roll that got lodged vertically
in the back of the toilet. Fluids flushed with no problem by the
slightest bit of solids/paper clogged it up as they got caught on the
tube. I snaked and found nothing 'cuz the snake went right through
the tube.

I finally gave in and pulled the toilet and found a pretty crappy
(literally) looking toilet paper roll sticking out of the bottom of
the toilet.

Interesting toilet leak
 

"Van Chocstraw" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:15:11 -0400, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running
constantly between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to
remind me of how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought.
Just noticed a small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the
sewage pipe that's wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought
was that the supply pipe got so cold from running constantly that what I
was seeing was condensation, but as far as I can see (because part of
the supply pipe's hidden), that's not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in
the bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

The wax ring will not cause the toilet to 'run'.


I didn't say the wax ring would make the toilet run.

Interesting toilet leak
 

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.


Hmmm,
Can't tell it's leak. If a leak put some food dye in the tank and trace
it. First thing to do.

Interesting toilet leak
 

"Van Chocstraw" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:15:11 -0400, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running
constantly between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to
remind me of how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought.
Just noticed a small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the
sewage pipe that's wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought
was that the supply pipe got so cold from running constantly that what I
was seeing was condensation, but as far as I can see (because part of
the supply pipe's hidden), that's not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in
the bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

The wax ring will not cause the toilet to 'run'.


What I meant was this: I'd heard (and seen, once) that sometimes people will
pour a bucket of hot water down the toilet to un-stuff it, and that this can
expand the sewage pipe enough to cause seepage. So I wondered if the reverse
could also happen: A constant stream of cold water contracting part of the
sewage pipe joint, or even the wax ring, and causing seepage.

Something like that.

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Jul 1, 4:19*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:
"Van Chocstraw" wrote in message

...





On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:15:11 -0400, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running
constantly between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to
remind me of how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought..
Just noticed a small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the
sewage pipe that's wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought
was that the supply pipe got so cold from running constantly that what I
was seeing was condensation, but as far as I can see (because part of
the supply pipe's hidden), that's not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in
the bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

The wax ring will not cause the toilet to 'run'.

What I meant was this: I'd heard (and seen, once) that sometimes people will
pour a bucket of hot water down the toilet to un-stuff it, and that this can
expand the sewage pipe enough to cause seepage. So I wondered if the reverse
could also happen: A constant stream of cold water contracting part of the
sewage pipe joint, or even the wax ring, and causing seepage.

Something like that.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I suppose it could but it shouldnt. If it does that means you have an
interesting installation problem. I recently fixed a leak I couldnt
find. I just bit the bullet tore the whole dang toilet apart and put
it back together with all new parts. I think the pats came to about
$25. Check for leak on your water supply line. Most people make these
short and straight as posssible. I put a loop in mine to make leaks
there obvious.


Jimmie
Jimmie

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Jul 1, 1:15*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:
Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.



So you have to repair the flapper inside the toilet...

That is an easy repair...

As far as the waste pipe being wet, are you 100%
certain that it is not just humidity condensing on
the outside of the now partially chilled waste line
due to the small continuous flow ?

~~ Evan

Interesting toilet leak
 

"Evan" wrote in message
...
On Jul 1, 1:15 pm, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:
Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running
constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply
pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was
condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.



So you have to repair the flapper inside the toilet...

That is an easy repair...

As far as the waste pipe being wet, are you 100%
certain that it is not just humidity condensing on
the outside of the now partially chilled waste line
due to the small continuous flow ?

~~ Evan

=========

Possible. I ended up buying the kit to rebuild the entire guts of the
toilet. Long story. Old toilet, no parts. And I went to an excellent
plumbing supply place. The kind where the good stuff is covered in dust and
some of the packages don't even have zip codes with the mfr's name. :-)

Interesting toilet leak
 

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

Hmmm... reminds me of a similar issue a friend had.

Before he bought his house, someone had installed a new overflow tube in
one of his toilets that was a little to long.

All was fine, till later when a little chunk of spooge got caught in his
fill valve causing it not to fully shut off.

The tank water level rose to the top of the overflow tube, but as it was
too high, some also seeped through the tank flush handle hole... it came
out so smoothly it wasn't visibly noticeable running down the front of
the tank.

He finally discovered the source when he happened to touch the front of
the tank and noticed it was wet.

Good Luck!

Erik

Interesting toilet leak
 

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

The damp drain pipe is probably a red herring.

If the leak is not the flush valve or it's seating area, check the
overflow pipe if it's metal. I have seen a brass overflow pipe develop
pinhole leaks at the bottom where it threads into the flush valve
assembly and some of the thinner threaded areas are exposed and it
pinholes in that area. Next suspect after that is the two tank bolts and
the rubber washers that seal those. The tank washers could also result
in a leak that runs down the back of the toilet and could appear below.

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:28:18 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:

Next suspect after that is the two tank bolts and
the rubber washers that seal those. The tank washers could also result
in a leak that runs down the back of the toilet and could appear below.

Exactly. A toilet I fixed once was a very slow leak at the tank washer
bolts. Something as simple as bumping the tank, flushing it caused a
tiny leak from one bolt washer that had deformed.

The way I found it was reaching under the tank/bolts, feeling the
wetness.

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Jul 1, 9:28*pm, "Pete C." wrote:
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden), that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

The damp drain pipe is probably a red herring.

If the leak is not the flush valve or it's seating area, check the
overflow pipe if it's metal. I have seen a brass overflow pipe develop
pinhole leaks at the bottom where it threads into the flush valve
assembly and some of the thinner threaded areas are exposed and it
pinholes in that area. Next suspect after that is the two tank bolts and
the rubber washers that seal those. The tank washers could also result
in a leak that runs down the back of the toilet and could appear below.

Amazing thing is that some people are still installing the tank bolts
and
washers wrong. Done correctly, the tank should be able to be picked up
and carried around, with no leak from a full (short of the overflow
tube)
tank. And no concerns about breaking the bottom of the tank from
tightening the bolts too much.

Interesting toilet leak
 

"Oren" wrote in message
...

The way I found it was reaching under the tank/bolts, feeling the
wetness.

I like to do that too. ;-)

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Thu, 1 Jul 2010 22:15:42 -0500, "JawBone"
wrote:


"Oren" wrote in message
.. .

The way I found it was reaching under the tank/bolts, feeling the
wetness.

I like to do that too. ;-)


And all this time I thought I was all alone. Shame on me.

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Jul 1, 10:29*pm, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:28:18 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:

Next suspect after that is the two tank bolts and
the rubber washers that seal those. The tank washers could also result
in a leak that runs down the back of the toilet and could appear below.

Exactly. A toilet I fixed once was a very slow leak at the tank washer
bolts. *Something as simple as bumping the tank, flushing it caused a
tiny leak from one bolt washer that had deformed.

The way I found it was reaching under the tank/bolts, feeling the
wetness.


LOL... If you think your toilet tank is leaking somewhere, a few
drops of food coloring will help you find the leak rather quickly...

~~ Evan

Interesting toilet leak
 

"Pete C." wrote in message
ster.com...

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Or maybe not a leak, per se. My first floor toilet began running
constantly
between flushes 3 days ago. Not full blast, just a trickle to remind me
of
how I'll be spending part of my Saturday. Or so I thought. Just noticed a
small puddle in the cellar below the toilet. It's the sewage pipe that's
wet, but the puddle smells clean. My first thought was that the supply
pipe
got so cold from running constantly that what I was seeing was
condensation,
but as far as I can see (because part of the supply pipe's hidden),
that's
not the case.

Next thought: The cold water contracted part of the sewage pipe assembly
enough to leak. But again, based on the lack of smell, that's not it.

Nightmare thought: Wax ring. I don't want to think about that.

There's little or no condensation on the tank itself, and the floor in
the
bathroom is dry. Luckily, it's not humid here today.

The damp drain pipe is probably a red herring.

If the leak is not the flush valve or it's seating area, check the
overflow pipe if it's metal. I have seen a brass overflow pipe develop
pinhole leaks at the bottom where it threads into the flush valve
assembly and some of the thinner threaded areas are exposed and it
pinholes in that area. Next suspect after that is the two tank bolts and
the rubber washers that seal those. The tank washers could also result
in a leak that runs down the back of the toilet and could appear below.


Not a red herring. I rebuilt the entire guts of the toilet last night, which
also involved new tank bolts. Dried the drain pipe, flushed, still dripping.
Hello plumber. I know the wax ring job is supposed to be easy, but this
nonsense only happens on work days when I don't have time for it.

Interesting toilet leak
 

On Jul 1, 9:29*pm, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:28:18 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:

Next suspect after that is the two tank bolts and
the rubber washers that seal those. The tank washers could also result
in a leak that runs down the back of the toilet and could appear below.

Exactly. A toilet I fixed once was a very slow leak at the tank washer
bolts. *Something as simple as bumping the tank, flushing it caused a
tiny leak from one bolt washer that had deformed.

The way I found it was reaching under the tank/bolts, feeling the
wetness.

We'd find water occasionally on my mother's bathroom floor. It took a
while to trace it down, but I finally tracked it down to a hairline
crack in the tank. When people would sit back against the tank it
would leak, evidently for a while, and then stop. Replacing the
toilet fixed it. ;-) Well, that turned out to be a royal PITA on a
Christmas Eve, but that's another story.