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Toilet Leak Catastrophes You Can Avoid: cause & prevention
- Broken, damaged, leaky toilets: improper toilet installation can lead to odors, leaks into the floor, rot, insect damage, mold contamination
- Cracked toilet porcelain, toilet tanks, or toilet bases
- Improper toilet tank installation can cause sudden bursting of the toilet tank and a catastrophic building flood
- A loose toilet is not only leaky, it is dangerous and can cause serious injury if it tips over while in use
- Questions & Answers about toilet leaks, smells, cracks, even injuries or disasters
- References
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InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Toilet cracks, leaks & other toilet catastrophes: this article discusses the causes and prevention of catastrophic toilet leaks that can flood a building. We explain that an improperly mounted or loose toilet not only leaks sewage into the building but odors and sewer gases: unsanitary and potentially explosive. We describe how an over-tightened toilet reservoir tank cracked years later, flooding a building. At our toilet home page, TOILET TYPES we discuss the full range of types of toilets available. At TOILET INSTALLATION PROCEDURE we give the basic procedure for installing a toilet.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Toilet Leaks, Injuries, and Toilet-Flood Catastrophes You Can Avoid
If your toilet is overflowing right now, turnoff its water supply. Try removing the tank lid to push down the flush valve, and when you catch your breath, take a look at TOILET OVERFLOW EMERGENCY for some quick ways to stop a toilet that is about to overflow.
Loose Toilets can Cause Injury
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Also see TOILET ALTERNATIVES where we list alternative toilet designs to basic water-operated flush toilets. Repairing problem toilets are discussed at TOILET REPAIR GUIDE and at TOILET OVERFLOW EMERGENCY. If you are interested in choosing an environmentally friendly toilet tissue, see TOILET TISSUE CHOICES.
At our toilet home page, TOILET TYPES we discuss the full range of types of toilets available. Also see TOILET ALTERNATIVES where we list alternative toilet designs to basic water-operated flush toilets. Repairing problem toilets are discussed at TOILET REPAIR GUIDE and at TOILET OVERFLOW EMERGENCY. If you are interested in choosing an environmentally friendly toilet tissue, see TOILET TISSUE CHOICES.
Watch out: A loose toilet risks more than leaks and odors (discussed below). Anyone, but particularly someone who is elderly, sick, or disabled and who has to "drop down" their body onto a toilet to use it can be seriously injured if the toilet breaks away at the floor and tips over like the tipped toilet shown in our photo at left.
If you expect such occupants in the building you may need to review and comply with ADA standards for accessibility, including the installation of grab rails and provision of wheelchair space. Details are found at Disabled or Elderly-Use Toilets.
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Hidden Toilet Leaks, Sewer Gases, Rot
 Watch out: a loose toilet will leak into the floor structure and if present, the ceiling below, risking costly rot, insect damage, or mold contamination, or odors and sewer gas leak.
Details are at Leaky Toilet Seals - Odors. Also see PLUMBING FIXTURE TRAPS and SEWER GAS ODORS where we discuss all of the causes of sewer gas smells or toilet odors in buildings and how to track down a smell to its source.
Watch out: loose is bad but also, don't over-tighten the toilet base mounting bolts or you risk breaking the toilet.
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Toilet Leak Catastrophes - Cracked Toilet Tank Floods Building
 Watch out: when assembling the toilet tank or top section to the bowl, also be careful not to over-tighten the mounting bolts. Doing so may break a porcelain toilet tank immediately, or, as we have observed, an over-tightened toilet tank may suddenly crack years later, flooding the building and leading to costly water damage.
Our photos below describe just this case: the toilet tank cracked suddenly (no one was at home), several years after the tank had been mounted (and apparently over-tightened) on to the toilet bowl.
The offending toilet is shown at left, and in close-ups in our photos below.
This cracked toilet tank was no trivial problem.
Especially because no one was at home at the time of this toilet leak, when the toilet tank cracked the toilet fill valve just kept running on, flooding half of the first floor of the building, soaking carpets, furnishings, drywall and trim, much of which had to be removed and disposed-of just to dry out the building.
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 This burst toilet tank flooded the home during a hot but rainy day in July. Luckily the owners arrived home on the day of the catastrophe and began an aggressive water cleanup, successfully avoiding a still more-costly mold contamination remediation job.
Our photo (left) gives a clue about how we proceeded to avoid a more costly mold problem: all of the floor/wall trim boards were removed and tossed outside (where it was still raining).
Anywhere that drywall was wet (along floors where floodwaters had spread in the building, we removed the bottom 12" of drywall.
We installed electric fans, heaters, and dehumidifiers to dry out the building as rapidly as possibly.
Even so, checking behind a small section of wall/floor trim board that had been left in place, more than a week later the drywall behind that trim was still wet, as was the wall cavity. Rapid response and thoroughness are important to avoid more extensive mold damage when the interior of a home is soaked for any reason.
If your building is flooded from a burst or overflowing toilet, see FLOOD RESPONSE CHECKLIST. Our complete guide to responding to building flooding begins at FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP
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In our cracked toilet photos beginning at below left our pencil points to the crack at the bottom of the toilet tank, and at right you can see that the crack originates on the bottom of the toilet tank where hardware fittings had been over-tightened - in this case during replacement of the toilet tank fill valve.
Also see FLOODS IN buildings-priorities and also PRIORITIES for PREVENTING INDOOR MOLD for an explanation of how to prevent mold contamination after building flooding.
Since two-piece toilet tank mounting hardware will normally include some remarkably thick rubber mounting washers, if the toilet tank is properly bolted you'll see that it does not leak, but you can wiggle it slightly at its mounting point to the toilet bowl after the toilet tank has been secured in place.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com. See our book review of this publication.
- ASHRAE resource on dew point and wall condensation - see the ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, available in many libraries. The following three ASHRAE Handbooks are also available at the InspectAPedia bookstore in the third page of our Insulate-Ventilate section:
- 2005 ASHRAE Handbook : Fundamentals : Inch-Pound Edition (2005 ASHRAE HANDBOOK : Fundamentals : I-P Edition) (Hardcover), Thomas H. Kuehn (Contributor), R. J. Couvillion (Contributor), John W. Coleman (Contributor), Narasipur Suryanarayana (Contributor), Zahid Ayub (Contributor), Robert Parsons (Author), ISBN-10: 1931862702 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862707
- 2004 ASHRAE Handbook : Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning: Systems and Equipment : Inch-Pound Edition (2004 ASHRAE Handbook : HVAC Systems and Equipment : I-P Edition) (Hardcover)
by American Society of Heating, ISBN-10: 1931862478 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862479
"2004 ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and Equipment The 2004 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and Equipment discusses various common systems and the equipment (components or assemblies) that comprise them, and describes features and differences. This information helps system designers and operators in selecting and using equipment. Major sections include Air-Conditioning and Heating Systems (chapters on system analysis and selection, air distribution, in-room terminal systems, centralized and decentralized systems, heat pumps, panel heating and cooling, cogeneration and engine-driven systems, heat recovery, steam and hydronic systems, district systems, small forced-air systems, infrared radiant heating, and water heating); Air-Handling Equipment (chapters on duct construction, air distribution, fans, coils, evaporative air-coolers, humidifiers, mechanical and desiccant dehumidification, air cleaners, industrial gas cleaning and air pollution control); Heating Equipment (chapters on automatic fuel-burning equipment, boilers, furnaces, in-space heaters, chimneys and flue vent systems, unit heaters, makeup air units, radiators, and solar equipment); General Components (chapters on compressors, condensers, cooling towers, liquid coolers, liquid-chilling systems, centrifugal pumps, motors and drives, pipes and fittings, valves, heat exchangers, and energy recovery equipment); and Unitary Equipment (chapters on air conditioners and heat pumps, room air conditioners and packaged terminal equipment, and a new chapter on mechanical dehumidifiers and heat pipes)."
- 1996 Ashrae Handbook Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Systems and Equipment: Inch-Pound Edition (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 1883413346 or ISBN-13: 978-1883413347 ,
"The 1996 HVAC Systems and Equipment Handbook is the result of ASHRAE's continuing effort to update, expand and reorganize the Handbook Series. Over a third of the book has been revised and augmented with new chapters on hydronic heating and cooling systems design; fans; unit ventilator; unit heaters; and makeup air units. Extensive changes have been added to chapters on panel heating and cooling; cogeneration systems and engine and turbine drives; applied heat pump and heat recovery systems; humidifiers; desiccant dehumidification and pressure drying equipment, air-heating coils; chimney, gas vent, fireplace systems; cooling towers; centrifugal pumps; and air-to-air energy recovery. Separate I-P and SI editions."
- Principles of Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning: A textbook with Design Data Based on 2005 AShrae Handbook - Fundamentals (Hardcover), Harry J., Jr. Sauer (Author), Ronald H. Howell, ISBN-10: 1931862923 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862929
- Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com. See our book review of this publication.
- Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
- How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
- What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
- How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
- What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked
- Humidity: What indoor humidity should we maintain in order to avoid a mold problem?
- Ice Dam Leaks in building attics and roof cavities, how to inspect for evidence of leaks, identify causes, and
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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