Toilet Leak? Any Advice

[c2000]

I live in a condo, on the top floor.
A few days ago, the condo unit below mine reported that a small amount of water had leaked through their ceiling heater in the bathroom. This only happened on one day and has not happened since. The day this occurred, I do not recall any spills or overflows from my unit.

Since this only happened once, I don’t think it is a leak in a pipe or anything.

My suspicion is the toilet. I have been needing to replace the whole mechanism in the toilet tank (the plastic unit that monitors the water level), as the tank takes a while to start filling after a flush. Plus, the flange in the tank sometimes doesn’t flop to cover the hole unless I shake the handle. Both annoying, but I didn’t think they were causing issues.

The day the leak occurred for my downstairs neighbor, I remember coming home and realizing that the toilet had been running all day while I was at work. I didn’t think this would cause any issues and that the excess water would just go down the pipe. Is this a false understanding? Is it possible that water is leaking out, somehow, and instead of going down the sewage pipe it is leaking around and down to the unit below?

I plan on trying to replace both the wax rings and the tank mechanism. Any thoughts on if this will possibly solve the problem?

Thanks for any advice anyone might have. Clearly I have little plumbing knowledge.

 

[Jadnashua]

Was the tank sweating from the continuous flow of cold water coming into it? That may be the source of the leak.

A toilet can leak many places: from the flange seal (but, normally, it just goes down the pipe unless there is a blockage, then can leak quite well), between the tank and the bowl, out the flush handle hole (if the level can get that high, usually not), from the seal where the fill valve is attached, and through the tank-to-bowl bolt seals.

Most of these would be obvious since there'd be water above the floor. If the flange wax seal was leaking, you may not notice it. Does the toilet rock at all?

While resetting a toilet is not too hard, in a multifamily dwelling, it may be a licensed plumber's job and may not legally be allowed by a homeowner.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[c2000]

I have never noticed any water on the floor, or instances of a sweating tank.
The tank doesn't rock, either.

My fear is that if I call a plumber, I won't really know what to tell them to fix.

Plus, it is strange that it happened only once last week, and the downstairs unit hasn't had any complaints since.

Thanks for your help

 

[Gary Swart]

It does sound like a mystery all right. I would suggest you get a plumber involved. Tell him what you have told us and let him take it from there. It is sometimes virtually impossible to pinpoint a problem without being on site where you can actually see what is going on, and even if we all guessed what the problem is, since you are in a condo, you almost certainly have to have a licensed plumber anyway and he won't accept our guesses or your opinion without a complete inspection.

 

[tubeornot2b]

what if the toiet does rock a bit? my aquia 1 rocks a very small amount if you press either front to back or side to side on the toilet bowl. I occasionally see a small amount of leakage from the front of the bowl (in the middle). This does not happen often.

This morning I tightened the side mounting screws on the bowl skirt. I am monitoring for further leaks. I did also have to tighten the bolts on the tank too. So I am left with the feeling that my installer may have left most if not all of the screws a bit loose.

Should I remove the entire bowl and check the mounting bolts there too?