Home Garden
# Home & Garden >> Home Repair & Maintenance >> Interior Home Repair

Fixing a Toilet Overflow That Leaks Through the Floor

Toilets sometimes overflow, which is inevitable. However, if each time your toilet overflows, you are getting water in the ceiling below the bathroom, that isn't typical and it's not something that you should allow to continue. Generally this means the water from the overflow is seeping under the toilet base and down along the plumbing, because the base has not been sealed properly against the floor. Sealing a base against the floor is a simple matter of running a bead of caulk around it.

Things You'll Need

  • Bleach
  • Toothbrush
  • Sponge
  • Caulk
  • Caulk gun
  • Razor knife
  • Long nail
  • Caulk remover
  • Putty knife
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Remove any old cracked or damaged caulk around the base of the toilet, if present. Apply a caulk remover to soften the caulk and then pry it up carefully with a putty knife, being careful not to damage the porcelain.

    • 2

      Pour a little bleach over a toothbrush and scrub the base of the toilet, where it meets the floor. Scrub all the way around the base, getting rid of any debris there.

    • 3

      Wet a sponge with bleach and wipe all around the base, taking up any dirt and debris that was loosened by the toothbrush.

    • 4

      Load your caulk tube into the caulk gun, back end first. Cut off the tip of the tube with your razor knife, making a diagonal cut with a hole of about ¼ inch across.

    • 5

      Push a long nail into the hole to break the seal inside. Squeeze the caulk gun trigger until the caulk rises to the tip. Press the release latch at the back of the gun to stop the caulk flow.

    • 6

      Hold the tip of the tube against the joint where the toilet base meets the floor. Hold the gun at about 45 degrees to the floor, tilted forward. Compress the trigger to push caulk out the tip.

    • 7

      Pull the gun along the base of the toilet as the caulk comes out, pressing the tip to the joint at the floor. Follow the shape of the base all the way around, sealing off the joint at the floor.

    • 8

      Wet your thumb and run it lightly around the whole caulk line, flattening the line against the base and the floor.

Previous:

Next:

Interior Home Repair
  1. Nautlius GE Dishwasher Leaks on the Floor
  2. My Westport Toilet Leaks at the Seal Replacement
  3. Trim for the Floor
  4. How to Fix a Leak Through the Bathroom Floor
  5. How to Mount a Toilet to the Floor
  6. My Lawnmower Gas Leaks Through the Air Filter
  7. How to Correct a Floor Joist That Is Pushing the Floor Up?
  8. How to Vent Through a Ceiling to the Second Floor
  9. The Effects of Caulk
  10. Sealing Joint Between the Basement Wall and the Floor
  11. Removing a Toilet That Is Cemented Into the Floor
  12. How to Stop a Neighbor's Smoke That Seeps Through the Floor

Home Garden © https://www.98905.com