Before doing anything, the first task is to turn off the water supply to the cistern so that you can safely disconnect the flexi hose or other means of connection. Although we have established the most likely cause of a newly installed leaking close coupled cistern above, occasionally the same type of leak will occur with a toilet that has previouysly had no issues, most of the time for years, so why would it suddenly start leaking? Take off the cistern lid and disconnect the push button or similar flush mechanism and put the lid safely to one side. If you have ever seen an old and aged piece of rubber then you will know that it looses it’s flexibility and essentially dries out and becomes brittle. At this point it will have lost it’s ability to form a decent seal and will then start to leak. However this issue would not just become apparent after flushing the toilet, there would be a constant leak.

To stop water running out of the cistern through these holes the fitting kit is supplied with 2 conical rubber washers. The thinnest end plugs down into the hole and as the bolts are done up, a metal washer on top crushes the rubber into the hole creating a firm seal. We are currently using Royal Mail Parcelforce and DPD as our delivery providers, all small items will be delivered by Royal Mail, these can take up to three working days to reach you. If the actual 4 inch waste outlet for the toilet was leaking then this would also result in water pooling behind the toilet and in the area of the connection itself. To allow water in to fill the cistern, normally a flexi hose connector is attached to a water supply pipe and then screwed on to the base of the fill valve. In some instances a flexi hose isn’t used and copper pipe runs straight to the valve.In almost all cases there will be at least 1 screw holding the top of the cistern to the wall or surface behind. Along with the through bolts, these will hold the cistern firm and level. As the issue would also only present itself after the toilet is flushed then this could potentially appear as a failed seal between the cistern and pan. This would also coincide with a newly installed toilet. Note: If there is no isolation valve installed then now is an ideal time to install one. See our project on how to fit an isolation valve for help on how to do so. Again if this is a newly installed toilet and you have just noticed a puddle of water on the floor then it may be coming from the incoming water supply and where it’s attached to the toilet fill valve or flush valve as it’s also known. I know nothing about plumbing, but since I am a home owner, I thought I should start from somewhere. The sighon of our toilet is worn out and I am trying to replace it with a new one. The toilet is Ideal Standard M360, very old so I had to struggle to remove the bolts, wing nuts etc with some help from DW40.

Finally have a good clean up around the under side of the toilet and floor, removing any water that could cause make you think there are leaks but there aren’t and then flush the toilet. If all is well after any inspection all should be clear and you should now be leak free. With the water turned off you can now safely disconnect the supply pipe. Before you do so though, place some old towels under the area surrounding the pipe and an old tray of some type. There will spillage so you will need to catch it all. If these rubber seals are not installed correctly and aren’t actually creating the required seal they’re supposed to, no matter how slight a gap there is, water can easily leak down through. As we have discussed, the most common cause of close coupled cistern leaks is that cistern isn’t sitting at 90° on top of the toilet pan. If the cistern is leaning over, even a little, one side of the doughnut lifts and, with a lot of water pressure, the leak is exposed.

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With the wall fixings removed the final job before removing the cistern is to loosen and remove the through bolts holding the cistern to the pan. This is the most likely root of the cause, however there can be others so read on to learn about how to resolve leaks with close coupled toilets. Why is my Close Coupled Toilet Leaking When I Flush?? I have not yet mounted the cistern on the toilet, but I have the feeling that something is not right.

Refit the 1 or 2 screws that secure the cistern to the surface behind but don’t tighten them too much, leave a little wiggle room. This is just to help hold everything in place and ensure nothing moves out of place.With everything cleaned and ready refit, pop the brand new doughnut down on top of the toilet cistern in it’s recess making sure that it is sitting correctly and flat on the toilet pan. If Plumbers Mait or a similar sealant isn’t used or the screw cap on the hose isn’t done up tight enough onto the fill valve then water can easily leak up through the threads. The close coupled toilet is a fairly modern iteration and was meant as a replacement for the older and less efficient low level toilet. This is a problem in itself as the two types of toilet suite are very rarely interchangeable due to their size and layout. To see how to get over this problem go to our project on changing toilets However as this water would be foul water e.g. water mixed with waste it wouldn’t be clean like fresh water and it would also stink! I realise this is an old thread however my experience may be useful to others. I also had a siphon fault with toilet marked M360 from Ideal Standard made in late 1995. I believe the model name is Reflections or Meadow and it was designed as a 7 litre flush.