Repair a Leak Between Your Toilet Tank and Bowl

You may be one of those unlucky individuals who have things happen to them that other people don’t. Many people can go for years and never get a leak between the tank and bowl of their water closet. I’m here to give you the advice you need to repair one of those rare occasional problem leaks. If you have a child or a husband that climbs on top of the bowl or tank of your water closet, I take back what I just said about being rare. It probably happens all the time.

Here we have a normal water closet. We will assume that the tank is leaking between the tank and the bowl.

Your first step would be to try to tighten the bolts that are in the tank. If you make matters worse or the leak doesn’t stop you will need to purchase a repair kit like the one I’m showing.

Turn off the water and make sure you dry the tank out of all the excess water. Take the tank off the bowl using a screwdriver and channel locks, or crescent wrench to hold the nuts while you unscrew the bolts.

 See the picture of a tank off of the bowl to get a better idea of how it works. 

Once the tank is off the bowl all you need to do is put your new rubber gasket on. I like to add a little Teflon paste on the gasket to help it tighten down a little. Put new rubber washers on the bolts and set the tank back onto the bowl gently. Tighten the bolts up while you add pressure to the tank.

Remember that when you take the bolts and washers off , put the new washers and bolts back on the same way. The repair kit should show a picture also. Hook the water back up and you should be looking good.

Good luck. If you can do this as a home owner you will save over $100.00 that you can use to take your wife or visa versa to dinner.