Diagnosing possible toilet leak?

[robodelfy]

I plumbed my toilet a few days ago and everything appeared to be fine. No leaks, everything seems to work.

Today I was wiping the floor and found just a little bit of water around the base of the back of the toilet, see photo.

First I thought it could be the pan connector, but it's fitted solidly, very tight rubber seal. It's made by Mcalpine.

Is it at all possible anything can leak from under the toilet? Dodgy ceramics? This is my first plumbing experience!

I've wiped it up, flushed the toilet again what inspecting very closely, and I don't see any water

Any ideas?

 

[sircerebus666]

More than likely it's the pan connector , pop some tissue underneath it to see if it gets wet

Could be the doughnut sealing the cistern to the pan isn't sealing right , did you do that really tight?

 

[Madrab]

get a bit of blue roll or toilet roll and tie it around the spigot where the pan connector joins and flush it a few times, that should tell you if it's from the pan connection or not.
If not it may be running from where the cistern meets the pan (doughnut isn't sealing properly) so check at the join where they meet or if there are holes in the pan platform where the cistern sits.

 

[denso13]

Is it at all possible anything can leak from under the toilet? Dodgy ceramics?

Unlikely but not impossible. If it is leaking from under the pan the water level in the pan should drop.

Double check all connections though.

 

[robodelfy]

More than likely it's the pan connector , pop some tissue underneath it to see if it gets wet

Could be the doughnut sealing the cistern to the pan isn't sealing right , did you do that really tight?

Thanks, yeah it's hard to see how the pan connector could be on any better

I forgot about the doughnut, of course it may well be that. I did it hand tight, and really hand tight! Should I have gone tighter? The nuts didn't seem suitable for a spanner really

The doughnut compressed a lot so I thought it was good

 

[robodelfy]

get a bit of blue roll or toilet roll and tie it around the spigot where the pan connector joins and flush it a few times, that should tell you if it's from the pan connection or not.
If not it may be running from where the cistern meets the pan (doughnut isn't sealing properly) so check at the join where they meet or if there are holes in the pan platform where the cistern sits.

I cut some thin strips of paper the width of the grout lines and slipped them under the toilet, and they did get a tiny bit wet, but only a bit. So it must be very minor, but that would suggest the water is inside, meaning probably not he pan connector? Probably the doughnut

 

[denso13]

but that would suggest the water is inside

Do you mean below the pan? If that is indeed the case then it can only be the pan itself which is leaking.

A leak at the donut washer would still show on the outside of the pan somewhere. I would still be checking it isn't that though.

 

[just pumps]

I cut some thin strips of paper the width of the grout lines and slipped them under the toilet, and they did get a tiny bit wet, but only a bit. So it must be very minor, but that would suggest the water is inside, meaning probably not he pan connector? Probably the doughnut

That could be old water that has shown up. As said lay the tissue outside of the pan base to find any leak. Another idea is the flexi is weeping at the top, water running down flexi onto floor then towards the pan base.

 

[Lower]

Is the cistern the type that has bolts that go through the cistern itself that are sealed with rubber washers? I had a leak on my new toilet last week where the cistern had come fitted with the bolts and washers at the factory where one seal was leaking and water was dripping off the bottom of the bolt. I also had a leak on a flexi pan connector, but that's a different story...

 

[Madrab]

Has the bathroom floor been mopped recently?

 

[robodelfy]

Do you mean below the pan? If that is indeed the case then it can only be the pan itself which is leaking.

A leak at the donut washer would still show on the outside of the pan somewhere. I would still be checking it isn't that though.

Yeah you're right, not sure what I was thinking

But yes I put the paper under the pan, and it was a little wet on one side

 

[robodelfy]

That could be old water that has shown up. As said lay the tissue outside of the pan base to find any leak. Another idea is the flexi is weeping at the top, water running down flexi onto floor then towards the pan base.

It's not the Flexi, it couldn't really get from the Flexi to the place where I found the water

But yes I will lay some tissue

 

[robodelfy]

Is the cistern the type that has bolts that go through the cistern itself that are sealed with rubber washers? I had a leak on my new toilet last week where the cistern had come fitted with the bolts and washers at the factory where one seal was leaking and water was dripping off the bottom of the bolt. I also had a leak on a flexi pan connector, but that's a different story...

Yes it does have these bolts and I was a little worried about them but they didn't seem to be leaking and any drips off them would not get to the place where I found water

 

[robodelfy]

Has the bathroom floor been mopped recently?

No, that's what's weird. It's a small amount of water so I wondered if it could just be left from something, but there never was water on the floor or elsewhere

 

[Madrab]

Any food colouring in the house? Colour the water in the pan and leave it, then test the water underneath with light coloured paper, wouldn't be the first time a pan's arrived with a near invisible hairline crack.