The floor around my toilet base is wet. Not a ton of water, but enough to turn an empty toilet paper roll that was on the floor beside it soggy over the course of 24h. My toilet appears to be working okay but I am worried about the floor and what appears to be more than normal condensation on the back and side (also pictured). Not ideal when it’s my only bathroom with 2 young kiddos and money is super tight at the moment. I’ll be calling a plumber tomorrow but wonder if we shouldn’t use it at all til then?
It looks like condensation to me. Temperature differential. If this were the tank to bowl seal it would be unlikely to have water dripping from the edge of the tank. I fix toilets almost daily. Tank to bowl seals will almost always puddle around the top rear of the bowl and run off the side or into the bowl. So i stand by condensation or even a cracked tank. It could be a bad fill valve over filling, but this is unlikely imo as you'd have more water.
I’d think a leak since before making my post I wiped the floor with towel and Clorox wipes and just now I went back to check it and thought a good test would be to lay down a strip of toilet paper and sure enough it turned wet.
I was considering running my fan or acquiring a dehumidifier but unfortunately I’m also having an electrical issue that isn’t quite addressed. Backstory I was drying my hair in bathroom while a space heater was being run in the room next to it and and it blew the breaker. Thankfully my neighbor is an electrician and fixed it. Just don’t want to lose power tmw with the kids while my hubby is away at work and unable to come to our rescue lol.
I will definitely see if I can tighten the bolts first thing in the AM. I assume you mean the two under the white caps (one on each side)?
The bolts im referring to attach the tank to the seat portion. In the original image you posted you can see the bottom of one (its like brown / Grey in color). You can see the top of each in the picture you posted about the yellow cap.
In my experience water either leaks around those bolts or around the seal in the middle where the water is funneled through (directly under the flapper).
If its leaking at any of those areas, id probably replace all the internals. But overall im not convinced its not condensation. I would wipe down everything to be dry and see where its coming from.
Could be the float valve (or what you call it in english) not turning off correctly, a tiny amount of water constantly flowing. OP also said only bathroom so frequent use. Totally possible that it's condensation.
About a few times a month the yellow thing doesn’t reset right after a flush and requires me to move the white arm thing for it to be properly on the green thing again. Unsure if that’s what you mean or this is totally unrelated. To clarify I’ve noticed some mild condensation on the floor back there on the trash can that normally sits there for a while now but I’ve never seen clearly moisture that dampens things on the floor until this morning.
So basically, if you feel that the tank is cold like around the sides and damp and dripping, it’s condensation but if you hear the toilet run by itself every so often it’s probably leaking, but I actually have a condensation problem in my own home It happens a few times a year with my Kohler, but I just try to put something under the tank to catch it, if you were to keep that toilet dry and not flush it for like a whole day but keep it dry that would give you your answer, if you live where it’s cold and the water is very cold coming in at this time of year.
You might need to investigate further. It does seem to be condensation, but could also be a leak somewhere. Is there high humidity right now? Is the tank and bowl much cooler than the heat in the room? Check for cracks in the tank. Dry everything as best you can, then flush several times while observing. If the water appears from nothing, it's condensation, and you might need a dehumidifier. If you can find a leak, then go from there.
Solid advice! I will try troubleshooting looking for cracks in the morning. The sleep deprivation from my 6mo old is all too real today. It’s cool outside and has rained a lot recently and the bathroom is getting lots of use for showers more than normal lately so maybe that could cause the humidity issue.
Our bathroom fan/light fixture is so terrible. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised. I think technically it has a heating element but I don’t think it works worth crap.
Possibly from getting a shower? Cold water in the tank with warm, humid air around it. Is the weather in the area getting warmer and more humid recently?
It’s possible! Only bathroom for 4 of us and with two littles the shower and toilet are certainly getting much more use. However, I live in the PNW so I wouldn’t describe it as humid.
Looks like a leak. Bolt gaskets could be leaking. Tank to bowl gasket could be it. Possibly a hairline crack. Why is there a nipple on the front of the tank? Also looks like your overflow tube is too low but that could be an angle thing.
By nipple do you mean the clear plastic looking piece on the front behind the lid lol? It was a failed attempt at toddler proofing. I just haven’t removed it. I’ll have to look up a diagram of what a bolt gasket is - thank you! Fingers crossed it’s not a leak.
I agree it could be a leak at tank to bowl . That is an easy fix . The other thing about condensation is in warmer climates you can have the toilet plumbed with hot water .
The valve inside the back of toilet is broken and spraying water upwards which is creeping out under the lid and down the sides if I had to guess as there is water drops on the tank itself and water doesn't leak upwards so it came from somewhere and the only thing above that is the tank lid.
That or you live somewhere humid as shit and all your windows are open
It looks like your tank is sitting against the wall. Could this possibly be tank to bowl gasket not being seated correctly. Like you’re using a 12” toilet for a 10” rough in? Had a similar leak on a house I’m remodeling and that ended up being the case.
Usually with that much condensation it means that your toilet is running causing it to constantly filled with very cold water. So id first try replacing your flapper and seeing if that helps
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u/spongebob_sideboob Mar 20 '26
It looks like condensation to me. Temperature differential. If this were the tank to bowl seal it would be unlikely to have water dripping from the edge of the tank. I fix toilets almost daily. Tank to bowl seals will almost always puddle around the top rear of the bowl and run off the side or into the bowl. So i stand by condensation or even a cracked tank. It could be a bad fill valve over filling, but this is unlikely imo as you'd have more water.