Common Causes of a Toilet Leaking from the Base: What Homeowners Need to Know

A leaking toilet can start off as a sneaky little problem. They typically start off as unnoticeable tiny drips, and you’re going on with your daily routine thinking everything’s fine. But if left unchecked, these leaks can go on to cause major problems later on. As experienced plumbers in Asheville, we can say we’ve seen more than our fair share of toilet leaks and how they can escalate. We’re here to help you figure out the most common reasons why your toilet is leaking from the base, and what you can do about it.

1. Worn-Out Wax Seal: The #1 Culprit

If we have to say the one thing that we see most often when dealing with toilet leaks, it’s a worn-out wax seal. This little ring of wax that sits between the toilet and the drainpipe flange is responsible for keeping everything sealed up tight. When it breaks or wears down, though, you can expect leaks to start happening. Just like everything else, it will wear out over time, mostly due to old age, but sometimes because it was improperly installed.

Here’s what happens: When the wax seal wears down, water can start leaking from the base of your toilet after flushing. You might not notice it right away—sometimes it’s just a few drops here and there—but over time, the water can damage your floor and subfloor. I’ve had a few customers who ignored a minor leak until it turned into a major issue that required floor replacement and even structural repairs. So, if you notice water around the base of your toilet, the wax seal is the first thing we check.

How we fix it: Fixing a worn-out wax seal for your toilet is something we do all the time. What happens is that we remove the toilet, take out the worn-out wax seal, clean up everything, and install a fresh one. It’s basically an easy and straightforward fix for a trained plumber. However, you could be looking at a replacement if the flange is also worn out. In some cases, though, we can still repair it.

2. Loose Toilet Bolts: They’re Smaller Than You Think, But Can Cause Big Problems

You’d be surprised at how much trouble loose toilet bolts can cause. These bolts hold your toilet securely to the floor. If they become loose, even just a little, your toilet can start rocking. And when it rocks, it shifts, which means that the wax seal won’t be as tight as it should be. This creates the perfect opportunity for water to escape around the base.

How to spot it: If your toilet feels wobbly or you can hear it creaking when you sit down, the bolts are likely loose. Even if you don’t feel it moving, sometimes water will start pooling around the base if the bolts are just a little off. Over time, the shifting can also cause the wax seal to crack or break.

How we fix it: Tightening loose bolts is simple—but if the bolts are rusty or stripped, we might need to replace them. We’ll also check to make sure the toilet is still level because uneven installation can cause issues down the line. If the bolts are corroded, don’t be tempted to try tightening them yourself; it could make the problem worse.

3. Cracked Toilet Bowl: Less Common, But Still a Possibility

While toilet bowl cracks are admittedly less common than worn-out wax seals, they are still issues to look out for. A cracked toilet bowl will cause leaks, most especially after you flush. They’re also quite difficult to detect at the onset since they start off as tiny drips, but when puddles start appearing at the base of your toilet when they shouldn’t, that’s a pretty good indicator of a problem.

Why it happens: Toilet bowl cracks happen for several reasons. Usually it’s either due to an aged toilet, a poorly installed toilet bowl, or sometimes because of damage caused by a heavy object falling on the bowl. This is actually one of the trickier issues to detect since the initial crack can be so tiny and hard to find at first. The water leaking out will also be so minimal that it won’t become obvious you already have a problem. Usually, the first time you notice something’s wrong is when the crack is already big enough to have more water leaking out of it.

How we fix it: We usually recommend that the homeowner replace the cracked toilet bowl. Most of the time, a cracked toilet bowl just isn’t repairable, and whatever DIY fixes you try with it will not really last and might even cause bigger problems later on. Just replace the toilet bowl. Reach out to us and we can even help you pick out a more water-efficient model, and of course, have it installed in just a few hours.

4. Blocked Drain Line: Not Just a Clogged Toilet

A blocked drain can sometimes be the culprit behind toilet leaks coming from the base. The drain line starts getting clogged, water starts backing up when you flush, and then you start seeing water coming out and collecting around the base. This issue usually happens if the toilet bowl itself is already old, or sometimes if it was not installed properly.

Signs you have a blocked drain line: If you’re seeing water rising up slowly after flushing the toilet, there’s a likely chance the toilet bowl is having blockages further down the line. Blockages can create pressure that will cause water to leak out from the base of your toilet, but watch out: if you’re also noticing that your sink or shower drain is draining slower than usual, it can be a sign of bigger problems, such as a fully-clogged drain.

How we fix it: We use a video inspection to find the exact location of the blockage, and then we clear it out with a drain snake or a hydro jet. This is usually enough to solve the problem, but sometimes the blockage is caused by something more serious, like tree roots going into and across the drainage or sewer line. It’s not common, but it happens. In cases like this, we might have to do more extensive work to repair the line or clear out the blockage.

5. Improper Installation: It Happens More Often Than You’d Think

Improper toilet installation is one of those issues that gets overlooked until something goes wrong. If the toilet wasn’t installed correctly—whether the wax seal wasn’t placed properly, the bolts weren’t tightened enough, or the flange was broken—it can cause a leak from the base almost immediately. Sometimes, a toilet might be installed with a slight tilt, which puts pressure on the seal and causes it to fail.

What we see: We’ve had customers who recently remodeled their bathroom or had a new toilet installed, only to find it leaking soon after. More often than not, the issue was improper installation, which meant we had to redo the work to make sure the toilet was properly seated.

How we fix it: Our first step is to remove the toilet, inspect it to see how it was installed, and see if we can find any broken components like the wax seal, the flange, or the bolts. If we do, we just replace the damaged parts and reinstall the toilet. Speaking of which, we’d just like to reiterate that installing a new toilet needs to be handled by a licensed professional plumber. It’s a small price to pay that will save you headaches and money in the long run.

Don’t Let a Small Leak Turn Into a Big Problem

While a toilet bowl leaking from the base will seem like just a small annoyance at first, it can escalate into a bigger problem if you don’t deal with it as soon as you can. Identifying the root cause of the leak is essential; it can either be a worn-out wax seal, clogged drain lines, or cracks in the toilet bowl itself. The most important takeaway here is to identify the cause and get it fixed right away.

With years of professional plumbing experience under our belts, we can help you get to the bottom of the leak and take care of it as efficiently as possible. Don’t wait for it to get worse; reach out to us immediately so we can fix it before it gets out of hand.

Never let a small leak turn into a big problem. Contact the best plumbers in Asheville, NC, today at Four Seasons Plumbing so we can help identify the issue and provide the best solution.