Toilet waste pipe leaking

Senseicads

Hi everyone,

i have a toilet waste pipe that drips water when anyone is sitting on the loo. it drips from underneath roughly where the toilet attaches itself to the waste pipe. There is a big pipey looking connector thing there about 6 -7" in diameter that looks like the origin of the leak. Its quite a big leak when someone sits on it, but doesn't leak when no one does. Sorry I am really really not good with this stuff. I thought it was because the screws into the floor securing the toilet to the floor seemed a bit loose. So i have tightened them down, however the leak still occurs when you sit on the loo. Additonally i have noticed a drip in the toilet cistern coming from the thing that fills up the toilet. Is this something that is fixable myself or is it better just to get a plumber in to look at them both?

as an example of my DIY skills, I am able to put a tv bracket to hang my tv off, but i ain't about to go plastering any walls :-)

If a plumber is the right way to go, how much should i be looking at it costing?

thanks in advance everyone!

enthusiasticsaver

I have not had that happen but my daughter and son in law had an issue with a badly installed bathroom and my husband ended up going round several times when they noticed a leak where the toilet joined the waste pipe. Turned out the floor wasn't level and everytime someone sat on the toilet the pipe worked loose. My husband managed to level it on a temporary basis and resecured the toilet. Probably not a diy job if you are not that handy though (my husband was an engineer so he is pretty handy) . I would get a couple of quotes but I would not have thought it would take more than a day to fix so that might give you a clue on cost. The leak in the cistern may be the same issue. The toilet is not properly secured so the pipes are working loose when someone sits on it. What type of floor is it on? Concrete or boards?

Norman_Castle

Its quite a big leak when someone sits on it, but doesn't leak when no one does.

The waste pipe will only leak a significant amount of water when the toilet is flushed. Is this what happens? The pipes are a push fit into the toilet. Try pushing them further in.

akira181

It's hard to say what's exactly the cause without seeing it but the wax ring seal or seal on the pipe itself (depending on the type of your toilet) may have perished and needs replaced or just loose and needs reseated. If the floorboards are loose or not level, it might be why it's worse when someone sits on it. If it's been leaking for some time, you should keep an eye out for any signs of rot (assuming you have floorboards and not concrete).

If you're really not good with this stuff as you say, then definitely get a plumber. It's not worth the risk flooding your house and/or neighbours, especially with waste water. Any good plumber will properly identify the issue and fix it so it won't happen again.

Senseicads

Yeah we ended up getting a plumber in, one of the floor boards is a bit loose and that movement was causing the leak. He said he wasn't going to fix the floor board, i would have to do that...fair enough but instead he installed a flexi pipe that allowed some movement between the toilet and the soil pipe. this seems to have worked great, and means I can fix the loose floor board at my leisure....its really not that wobbly to be fair.