How to Detect Toilet Leaks

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Toilet leaks may be easy to repair, but detecting them is a great challenge, especially when they are completely silent. It's nerve racking to view a water bill and see the amount double or triple what you normally pay for. Here is a very quick and easy method to detect a toilet leak.

Steps

1. Remove the tank lid of the toilet.
2. Flush your toilet as usual. Wait for the water to rise again to the designated water line of the tank and the toilet to fully complete a flush.
3. Drop about 4 to 5 food coloring drops in the toilet tank. You may want to use a dark color such as blue or red instead of yellow.
4. Replace the toilet lid and wait 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Survey the toilet bowl. If the water is clear, there is no leak. If the water has changed color, there is a leak present.
6. Repeat the process with all toilets in the house, if applicable. This is very important to see if the issue is coming from one specific toilet or happening in multiple ones.

Tips

• If the toilet is flushed during the waiting process, the end results will be inaccurate as the coloring will "bleed" into the bowl from the tank.
• It may take a few flushes for the coloring to disappear altogether.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Detect Toilet Leaks. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.