Toilet leaks?

Apr 30, 2011 8 Replies

I was putting some food coloring in the tank of my daughter's toilet and the color soon was seen running down the sides of the bowl. I did the other two and got the same results. Does that not work or all of them leaking?


to koala bears: food, water, shelter and something to crap on."

It's /they are leaking, unless someone flushed them in between your visits.

is to koala bears: food, water, shelter and something to crap on."

either the level in the tanks too high, and its running over the overflow, thats easily seen

or the more likely case a bad flapper.

good catch water and sewer are expensive to just let run

to koala bears: food, water, shelter and something to crap on."

buffalo ny: see

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for toilet repair info, there are test tablets they provide to test for this lost water you have similarly found. following a flush, after the flapper closes, there should be no water exiting thru there from the tank to the bowl.

That is why I put the food coloring in it. It looked like the water in the tank might be a little bit higher than the overflow. I thought if I put the food color near the pipe, it would show that the water was flowing into the tube. It did not, went to the bottom of the tank and then into the bowl.

Okay. You think the flappers will be all that is needed?

Just replace the flapper. If that doesn't fix it more surgery is needed. You have to remove the tank to replace the seat (there are kits that don't require it, but they're half-assed measures) and flappers are cheap. Might just as well start with the easy stuff. The tank could be cracked, too. My mother had that happen.

if the water "looks" like it's higher than the overflow tube, then it is. It's not rocket science to see that. Lower the float level and retest.

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