Wierd plumbing issue...
 

My downstairs bathroom sits over a utility room in the basement, and you
can see the pipes that go to and from the toilet in that room. A few
months ago, I noticed water on the floor and thought I had a leak. So,
I had my roommate go to the bathroom and flush. Here's what happened:

Toilet flush.... everything OK
Tank starts filling.... starts leaking into the utiltiy room like crazy
Tank completes filling.... leaking totally stops

I found it strange that the leak only occurred when the toiled tank was
filling. Once it was full all leaking stopped. Since it did not leak
during the flush, I assume that the water was clean. It seemed strange
and didn't know how to diagnose it.

Any ideas?

It gets even more complicated:

So, I made that bathroom off limits until I could find a plumber (which
I never did), but my roommate accidentally flushed the toliet there
today. Since I was downstairs, I ran to check out the leaking. Well,
guess what? No more leak. Now I'm really confused, and how am I going
to ask a plumber to fix a leak that no longer exists?

I am asusuming that the leak stop is only temporary, either that or the
plumbing gods have smiled on me. Any thoughts, ideas, or opinions are
greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike

"Mike (remove XX's to reply)" wrote in message
...
My downstairs bathroom sits over a utility room in the basement, and you
can see the pipes that go to and from the toilet in that room. A few
months ago, I noticed water on the floor and thought I had a leak. So, I
had my roommate go to the bathroom and flush. Here's what happened:

Toilet flush.... everything OK
Tank starts filling.... starts leaking into the utiltiy room like crazy
Tank completes filling.... leaking totally stops

I found it strange that the leak only occurred when the toiled tank was
filling. Once it was full all leaking stopped. Since it did not leak
during the flush, I assume that the water was clean. It seemed strange
and didn't know how to diagnose it.

Any ideas?

It gets even more complicated:

So, I made that bathroom off limits until I could find a plumber (which I
never did), but my roommate accidentally flushed the toliet there today.
Since I was downstairs, I ran to check out the leaking. Well, guess what?
No more leak. Now I'm really confused, and how am I going to ask a
plumber to fix a leak that no longer exists?

I am asusuming that the leak stop is only temporary, either that or the
plumbing gods have smiled on me. Any thoughts, ideas, or opinions are
greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike

possibility there is a hose that should be clamped onto the overflow tube in
the tank, but the hose has become loose and is spraying water up and it's
leaking out the top of the tank, try removing the cover and checking it

here's a diagram of what you should see inside the tank, the overflow tube
is the second white rectangle from the left inside the blue area (tank
water), the hose comes in from the top (and should be clamped onto the side
of the overflow tube)...be careful putting pressure on the overflow tube,
they can break easily at the base, requiring the whole assembly be replaced

"effi" wrote in message
...
"Mike (remove XX's to reply)" wrote in message
...
My downstairs bathroom sits over a utility room in the basement, and you
can see the pipes that go to and from the toilet in that room. A few
months ago, I noticed water on the floor and thought I had a leak. So, I
had my roommate go to the bathroom and flush. Here's what happened:

Toilet flush.... everything OK
Tank starts filling.... starts leaking into the utiltiy room like crazy
Tank completes filling.... leaking totally stops

I found it strange that the leak only occurred when the toiled tank was
filling. Once it was full all leaking stopped. Since it did not leak
during the flush, I assume that the water was clean. It seemed strange
and didn't know how to diagnose it.

Any ideas?

It gets even more complicated:

So, I made that bathroom off limits until I could find a plumber (which I
never did), but my roommate accidentally flushed the toliet there today.
Since I was downstairs, I ran to check out the leaking. Well, guess
what? No more leak. Now I'm really confused, and how am I going to ask a
plumber to fix a leak that no longer exists?

I am asusuming that the leak stop is only temporary, either that or the
plumbing gods have smiled on me. Any thoughts, ideas, or opinions are
greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike

possibility there is a hose that should be clamped onto the overflow tube
in the tank, but the hose has become loose and is spraying water up and
it's leaking out the top of the tank, try removing the cover and checking
it

here's a diagram

http://www.monkeyrivertown.com/brains.php?ART=542

of what you should see inside the tank, the overflow tube is the second
white rectangle from the left inside the blue area (tank water), the hose
comes in from the top (and should be clamped onto the side of the overflow
tube)...be careful putting pressure on the overflow tube, they can break
easily at the base, requiring the whole assembly be replaced

Mike (remove XX's to reply) wrote:
My downstairs bathroom sits over a utility room in the basement, and
you
can see the pipes that go to and from the toilet in that room. A few

months ago, I noticed water on the floor and thought I had a leak.
So,
I had my roommate go to the bathroom and flush. Here's what
happened:

Toilet flush.... everything OK
Tank starts filling.... starts leaking into the utiltiy room like
crazy
Tank completes filling.... leaking totally stops

I found it strange that the leak only occurred when the toiled tank
was
filling. Once it was full all leaking stopped. Since it did not
leak
during the flush, I assume that the water was clean. It seemed
strange
and didn't know how to diagnose it.

Any ideas?

It gets even more complicated:

So, I made that bathroom off limits until I could find a plumber
(which
I never did), but my roommate accidentally flushed the toliet there
today. Since I was downstairs, I ran to check out the leaking.
Well,
guess what? No more leak. Now I'm really confused, and how am I
going
to ask a plumber to fix a leak that no longer exists?

I am asusuming that the leak stop is only temporary, either that or
the
plumbing gods have smiled on me. Any thoughts, ideas, or opinions
are
greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike

Since you can see everything... What is the starting point for the
water?

TB

On 1/27/2005 1:34 AM US(ET), Mike (remove XX's to reply) took fingers to
keys, and typed the following:

My downstairs bathroom sits over a utility room in the basement, and
you can see the pipes that go to and from the toilet in that room. A
few months ago, I noticed water on the floor and thought I had a
leak. So, I had my roommate go to the bathroom and flush. Here's
what happened:

Toilet flush.... everything OK
Tank starts filling.... starts leaking into the utiltiy room like crazy
Tank completes filling.... leaking totally stops

I found it strange that the leak only occurred when the toiled tank
was filling. Once it was full all leaking stopped. Since it did not
leak during the flush, I assume that the water was clean. It seemed
strange and didn't know how to diagnose it.

Any ideas?

It gets even more complicated:

So, I made that bathroom off limits until I could find a plumber
(which I never did), but my roommate accidentally flushed the toliet
there today. Since I was downstairs, I ran to check out the leaking.
Well, guess what? No more leak. Now I'm really confused, and how am
I going to ask a plumber to fix a leak that no longer exists?

I am asusuming that the leak stop is only temporary, either that or
the plumbing gods have smiled on me. Any thoughts, ideas, or opinions
are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike


Here's a WAG. Have the roommate flush the toilet while he/she is
standing, and then again while he/she is sitting on the toilet. If that
makes a difference, it could be the wax seal that is leaking when the
toilet is flushed without weight on the bowl, but doesn't leak when
weighed down by someone. There could be a slight time delay between the
flushing and when the water starts dripping.

--
Bill

I don't think that's it... there is no leaking in the bathroom itself,
only beneath it.

Thanks,

Mike

willshak wrote:
Here's a WAG. Have the roommate flush the toilet while he/she is
standing, and then again while he/she is sitting on the toilet. If that
makes a difference, it could be the wax seal that is leaking when the
toilet is flushed without weight on the bowl, but doesn't leak when
weighed down by someone. There could be a slight time delay between the
flushing and when the water starts dripping.

Hmmm. interesting thought... that might just be it... Would it be
possible to replace/repair this myself?

Thanks,

Mike