Toilet - replacing a wax seal

water in the bowl should not leak. but when you flush it it goes out the bottom into the drain. between the toilet and drain pipe there should be a wax ring gasket to seal the toilet to the floor drain if this wax gasket is damaged it will leak. replace with a thicker wax ring and after you put the toilet back in place sit on it to be sure it has smashed into the wax ring. and put nuts back on and tighten. do not over tighten sand crack the porcelain. this should fix your problem.

If you have found no leaks on the supply line, be sure to check the seal between the tank and the bowl. This is a common source of leaks, especially on older toilets that have seen much use.

Before you do that though, check carefully at the base of toilet to see if its possible any water is appearing from under the toilet. Your toilet sits on a seal, most often made of wax (sometimes rubber) that seals the water and waste from the toilet into the drain pipe. Normally, those seals last many years. Flush the toilet 3-4 times and observe whether any water seeps out under the toilet. Give it a few minutes (4-5) and recheck. If it is leaking, the fix is pretty simple: Shut off the water, disconnect the source water line just so you won't risk breaking it, and remove the 2-4 toilet bolts. Rock the toilet gently and pull straight up until the seal comes loose. The beeswax seals seem to work the best. Scape off as much of the old wax as you can, and set a new one. They are very inexpensive, and sell for around $2-3.00 USD. To reinstall, remove the protective lining (if present) on the wax, place the ring on the toilet, not the flange and carefully place it straight down onto the flange. Try not to make a mistake - line it up carefully. Press down on the toilet's seat area, maybe rocking yourself a little, until you can see the toilet is back in position.

Next, VERY CAREFULLY tighten the toilet's mounting bolts, a bit at a time, until secure. Over-tightening can break porcelain toilets, so be careful.
OK - either that's fixed or you've ruled it out. Next is the tank seal. Unfortunately, the only way to get to it is take the tank off. If its come to that, first go to the hardware store and secure a replacement set containing the tank seal, a new pair of brass bolts, and the bolt seals. Expect to pay around $4-5.00 USD for the set. The job is pretty easy, you use a wide flat-bladed screwdriver to loosen the (usually) brass screws in the bottom of the tank after shutting off the water and while an assistant holds the nuts from the bottom. You COULD do if yourself, but an assistant makes it easier. Carefully lift off the tank, and you'll see the seal. Remove it, and replace it with the new one, being careful to put it in the right direction, as they are usually cone-shaped. Set the tank back on, put the screws back in, using new seals/bolts (just for good luck) and reassemble. BE CAREFUL when tightening the bolts!! You can easily crack the tank if overtightened.

This is a lot of writing, but just to give you an idea, I could probably change a wax ring in 10 minutes, and the tank seal in 15 or so. Best wishes -

Fixing a leaky toilet is actually rather simple, requiring few tools and just a little time and effort. In looking at Caroma toilets on Google, they appear to be just a standard type of unit, and should present few if any problems for yourself or any handyman of modest skill.

If it is leaking around the base of the toilet - where the toilet sits on the floor, the repair item is a simple wax seal. Here is a tutorial to effect this repair: Replace Toilet Wax Ring. The wax ring is very inexpensive, usually $5 to $10 USD.

If the water is leaking from between the tank (cistern) and the toilet bowl, the job is even easier, as it does not require lifting and moving the entire toilet. A good tutorial for that repair is here: How to Replace Tank to Bowl Gasket . The gaskets, new nuts, bolts and rubber seals come in a kit and also cost only $5 to $10 USD.

I am sorry to hear your Plumber insisted you buy an entire new toilet, but do remember he is in the business of making money!

I would have used low power jet wash with pipe cleaning attachment when the toilet was off, I know karcher do a good 1 but there are cheaper alternatives. The last toilet I fitted had a large rubber type seal between the wate outflow pipe and the out pipe of the toilet that fitted over the base of the pipe. I have never seen a wax type seal as you describe, admittedly I have not changed many toilets, but I would have changed the seals when the tiolet was lifted. Hope this helps

If you are installing a wax (doughnut) seal to connect the toilet to the main drain, then the wax ring should be big. It should 'squish' to seal correctly. You may not need it, but I've known plumbers to install two of the seals at once for extra gap-filling. Just install the seal, sit on the toilet to compress the seal into place and then install the bolts to the floor. Done!

Hello, W/D here. I always use the wax ring that has the plastic horn molded into it. Rarely, I will place another regular gasket on top of it if the closet flange sits too far above the floor or is cocked. The key to a good seal of a wax ring is to install it properly, and set it several times. What I do is tighten the bolts that bolt the toilet to the flange, and then sit on the seat, putting as much weight as I can on the bowl, and even wiggling a bit. The toilet settles, and I tighten the bolts (carefully) a bit more. I continue to do this several times until the toilet is settled well onto the closet flange and is secure. You have to take your time with this, and be very careful not to over tighten at any one time. You can break the closet flange or at worst, crack the porcelain bowl flange.
Best regards, --W/D--

See if nuts on studs on bottom where it mounts to the floor & flange are loose. If they are loose tighten both of them evenly. If they are tight you will need to replace wax ring that is between toilet & floor.Turn off shutoff water valve to toilet. Flush once holding down handle to let tank drain. Remove both nuts & lift toilet off flange. Remove wax ring. Scrape all old wax off toilet & floor flange. Install new wax ring. Set down toilet on ring & snug nuts evenly. Sit on seat & apply your weight evenly to distribute wax & level. Retighten nuts. Turn water back on. Allow tank to refill. Flush toilet & check for leaks.

Either wax ring or sewage pipe is leaking. If you cant open the ceiling from below to look for leak you may have to remove toilet inspect pipe and look to see if it was leaking from wax ring and if it could have gone downstairs without leaking out too. If leak couldn't have come from wax ring the leak must be coming from a pipe in the floor. Find the simplest way to access it to repair it.

The wax ring would only help if the toilet wasn't sealed to the drain. Is the odor coming up through the toilet? If so then your water level must be low in the bowl, allowing the trap to be open to air. Make sure the little hose from the fill valve is dumping into the overflow. This helps make sure the toilet stays full, when refilling.