Brand new, one-piece TOTO leaks through the porous tank wall?!

[Vonan]

Hi,

I installed a brand new TOTO toilet and it is leaking right through the tank walls without any visible cracks.

As per TOTO support, this leak was confirmed by putting food coloring into the water in the tank and noting colored droplets penetrating through the bottom of the tank as seen in the attached picture.

Just my theory but some parts of the tank were possibly improperly glazed and it is now porous?!

I received a full refund from Wayfair (good customer service for sure) but now I am wondering if I could somehow reduce or eliminate the seeping droplets and still use the toilet.

During my research I found many possible sprays, glues, tapes and epoxies that might work but that would require a lot of trial and error as no product out there claims to be for exactly my particular issue.

Does any one know of a product that could be applied to the inside of the toilet tank that would improve it's water sealing properties?

Thank you for any input.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Are you sure it is not from the tank bolts? I would look them over.

One time with a different brand I could not find a tank leak. After a half a day and taking the tank off a few times, I found that under one of the neoprene washers for the tank bolt, a stainless steel washer was stuck to it, thereby it prevented a water tight seal.

Look at this post and notice the tank bolts. You'll see the brass bolt, SS washer, neoprene washer.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....ion-instructions-written-by-jamie-love.12606/

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

It's rare that I find a porous tank on a toilet, but I have seen them. I have never tried to fix them, mainly because the problem isn't visible, nor does it make any sense. I've seen it on several brands of toilets. So rare though that the solution is mainly to just toss them and open another box.

I have sold thousands of toilets. It's really, really rare.

I don't think the ones I saw were a glazing issue. There is something wrong though. It's good that you were covered for the loss of the toilet. You never get the labor back, but that's just part of the deal. I will say that of the thousands of TOTO toilets that I have sold, the quality has been very good.

I have never seen the inside of a tank that has been glazed. That wasn't the problem.

 

[Vonan]

It seems like an awful lot of water to seep through the fired clay. Are you sure it is not from the tank bolts? I would look them over.

One time with a different brand I could not find a tank leak. After a half a day and taking the tank off a few times, I found that under one of the neoprene washers for the tank bolt, a stainless steel washer was stuck to it, thereby it prevented a water tight seal.

Look at this post and notice the tank bolts. You'll see the brass bolt, SS washer, neoprene washer.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....ion-instructions-written-by-jamie-love.12606/

It is a one-piece toilet so no bolts at all between the tank and the bowl.

 

[Vonan]

It's rare that I find a porous tank on a toilet, but I have seen them. I have never tried to fix them, mainly because the problem isn't visible, nor does it make any sense. I've seen it on several brands of toilets. So rare though that the solution is mainly to just toss them and open another box.

I don't think the ones I saw were a glazing issue. There is something wrong though. It's good that you were covered for the loss of the toilet. You never get the labor back, but that's just part of the deal. I will say that of the thousands of TOTO toilets that I have sold, the quality has been very good.

I have never seen the inside of a tank that has been glazed. That wasn't the problem.

Thank you so much for the quick response and confirming that I am not crazy to think that the tank could be porous due to some manufacturing defect.

I will most likely just order a new toilet but for the fun and challenge of it I would really like to try and coat the inside of the tank with something to see if it would stop the leaks.

If you had no choice and had to try and fix this problem what would be your go to product to try and add a waterproof layer to the inside of the tank?

Thank you Terry.

 

[Gregee]

Just as an experiment, I'd love to see how well a shower membrane held up under such conditions. While I'd like to see how well Schluter's kerdi membrane would do long term, a much easier application of a liquid membrane such as CBP's Redgard would be an ideal product to try.

Greg

 

[WorthFlorida]

Redgard and other type products, membrane or anything else usually are not designed or would not work submersed in water. My first thought would be to line it with fiberglass and epoxy but it probably would eventually fail by pulling away from the tank. There also be the problem at the water inlet for the fill valve to get a smooth finish for sealing.

 

[Jadnashua]

Porcelain typically has somewhere in the up to 0.2% absorption of moisture (often, lots less)...it's pretty dense stuff. The glaze on the outside should prevent what little moisture that gets absorbed from passing through as things stabilize. Condensation issues are potentially more common, but if you used dye in the water, and it showed outside, it is not normal.

There are some pourable clear epoxies that you might try...it would be a pain, but pour some in, and turn the thing to get it on all sides, then pour out the excess before it hardens. There are some paints designed for sealing concrete basement walls that might work, but in reality, none of this should be required. If you want to try to save the old toilet after they send you a new one, it would maybe be a worthwhile experiment. Some of that glop you see them sealing the bottom of a boat on late night infomercials might work, too. Don't know for how long.

 

[Gregee]

I think the OP should trial all of these methods! As Cap'n Kirk told Scotty, "Do it do it do it!"

Greg

 

[Vonan]

I just coated the bottom of the tank with extra thin Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue).
Theory is that it will seep into any micro crevices, harden and make them waterproof.
I will let you know if that works in a few days.

Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Vonan]

FYI:
Happy to report that the above mentioned fix worked perfectly.
Absolutely no leaks at all since I applied the glue.
Toilet fixed for $15 in glue and a couple hours of labor.