Water in the toilet bowl

ewaldo · 09-21-2013, 08:23 PM

I like to keep a little water in the toilet bowl while in storage. I have found out that if I leave more then a Qt. of water in it, it will leak out. but if I leave two or three cups It will stay for ever. Is it because of the weight of the water what other reason could it be?

skigramp · 09-21-2013, 09:42 PM

I am not following .... if you leave a 1 qt (4 cups) in the toilet bowl ... and it all leaks out ... why doesn't your 2 cup rule apply after the first 2 cups have leaked out???????

ewaldo · 09-22-2013, 09:25 AM

The whole qt. leaks out(no water left in bowl) if only two cups of water are added it will not leak out.

RickO · 09-22-2013, 10:16 AM

Sounds pretty strange.

Having water leak out over time isn't at all unusual though. The seals on the rotating ball seal get "dirty" and need to be kept clean. It's not fun, but getting in there with a small brush and something like a paper clip to scrape debris out of the little groove on the seal.

Good luck.

Rick

stearn · 09-22-2013, 10:31 AM

We add rv antifreeze, doesn't take very much and it doesn't evaporate. Never measured but would guess maybe a cupful. Agree with "Ricko" seal needs to be kept clean. UGH!!

ewaldo · 09-22-2013, 02:11 PM

Toilet seal has been cleaned, before that it would hold water for two minutes. I too keep antifreeze in the toilet bowl during winter with no leaking. But if to much water is added to the bowl it leak out over night. If only two or three cups of water are added it's ok no leak.

becks · 09-22-2013, 03:06 PM

That's a hard one to understand. As said cleaning, although a nasty job ,always fixes are leak down problem. I'd try cleaning one more time.

stearn · 09-22-2013, 05:43 PM

A few years ago our toilet seal was not holding. That's when I was told about keeping the seal cleaned. I still had water loss after cleaning. I found a blue solution at CW that lubes the seal. (I think it was Thetford seal lube) I thought, before replacing the seal it was worth the try, and it worked!

nbounder · 09-22-2013, 08:46 PM

WHAT!! You mean to say that something from CW actually works as advertised? I am shocked.

Cbones · 09-22-2013, 08:56 PM

Whenever my toilet fails to hold water, I put a few squirts of Dawn in the bowl and flush and repeat a few times. So far it has been successful. When in long term storage, as others have mentioned, a couple of ounces of RV antifreeze prevents the seal from drying out.

Ustamiata · 09-23-2013, 11:07 PM

Try a little plumbers grease (silicon) rubbed around the seal after cleaning. Makes the flush smother and stops the water leak.

nbounder · 10-01-2013, 10:17 PM

So plumbers grease is silicone??! Not really . . . .Sorry., try again.Back to engineering school, mr Miata.

Walter5555 · 10-01-2013, 10:45 PM

I don't remember if you said that you had a ball type of flush or it was a flat blade type that has a rubber seal.

I have a ball type and most R.V. Supply stores have a cleaner shaped like a wooden tungue compressor except that one end is like sandpaper it's so you can place it between the ball and the bowl it is used to clean off all the calcium that builds up over time.

Water will stay in our bowl for a long time and when we store it I fill it up so that the moister in the air will keep the wood in the M.H. from shrinking and cracking.

Just a thought.

Wayne M · 10-02-2013, 07:33 AM

We had that dreaded problem. I had the little tool that had a 1 inch 90 degree bend a the end that I could place between the seal and the ball (Down inside the toilet under the ball flapper) That sometime worked, and some time didn't. I think it was just temporarily moving any debris around. I also used an old toothbrush which had the same affect.

Then I used Vaseline. With disposable gloves on. I would coat a glove with Vaseline and work it around the seal. That, along with the cleaning with the tool or tootbrush worked for awhile also.

Then I noticed that the bowl wasn't leaking anymore and I made a statement to that affect to DW. She said that she cleaned it. I asked how. (No, not with my toothbrush). She said she (also wearing gloves) used dish soap and got down in there with her gloved hand (I hope she wasn't lying about the gloves, she cooks for me) and cleaned it thoroughly. It has been leak free for over a year now.

I put it in storage two months ago and 1 month later I checked and water was still in the bowl. I flushed to get the residue out and clean the ring on the porcelain the refilled the bowl. Just the other day I was up there and the level was at the same as when I filled it.

Just sayin' !

HD4Mark · 10-02-2013, 07:44 AM

I agree with everyone about cleaning and we have gone the whole route cleaning and replacing gaskets on our SeaLand by Thetford toilet. I am still confused over why it will hole 2 cups but drain out all of four. Very interesting.

What brand/model toilet it this.

bruceisla · 10-02-2013, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbounder

So plumbers grease is silicone??! Not really . . . .Sorry., try again.Back to engineering school, mr Miata.

Silicone Faucet Grease

RickO · 10-02-2013, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruceisla

Silicone Faucet Grease