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Effy's avatar
Effy
Explorer II
Apr 24, 2013

Toilet bowl seal not holding water

My toilet bowl suddenly stopped holding water. The black seal seems to be fine and flexible but it still drains pretty rapidly. Is this an easy fix, perhaps just replacing the black seal? I have read olive oil works sometimes. I usually don't let it sit dry so I don't think it dried out. Any help is appreciated. thanks

29 Replies

  • My toilet will leak unless I let it close "aggressively". It's hard to convince visitors to do that. They are afraid they will break it.
  • When my seal stops holding water, I open the valve and spin a toilet bowl brush in the opening. Sure beats spending $30-$40 for a new seal.
  • Mine started slowly leaking and vegie oil helped for a while. As the leaky got worse I tried cleaning again and finally used a brass brush. That made it worse so bought a new seal.
  • Yes, clean the groove. Probably some "gunk" in it. Yuck, wear laytex gloves if you're a germaphobe like me.
  • We had the same problem last summer. Like others are saying; clean the groove and it will probably slove your problem. With all said always keep liquid in the toitet being either water or antifreeze
  • Seems to be an ongoing issue with various fixes of which some work and some don't.
  • I have a 17 year old SeaLand Traveler toilet.
    If/when the seal leaks I use CLR: http://www.jelmar.com/CLRbasic.htm
    I put enough full strength CLR into the bowl to cover the seal and allow it to sit.
    Then, with the water turned off I work the flush mechanism and do it again.
    That usually stops the leak down for 3-6 months.
    Mel
    '96 Safari
  • What is make and model of toilet?
    Many Thetfords get debris in the groove that does not allow it to seal. Thetford sells a "bent screwdriver" to clean it.
    You can make one out of a metal coat handger. Straighten the coat hanger, bend a 90 on one end with about a 1-1.5 peice sticking out. The other end needs to be 8-10 inches long. I bent a handle to make it easier to hold.
    Use the tool in the groove between the seals. You may find a peice of ***t or some toilet tissue.
  • My guess would be that there is something in the seal's groove causing the seal to not completely seal off. Open the seal and run something in the groove (nothing sharp, of course) and see if that helps. If it doesn't inspect the seal very carefully and see if it is torn or otherwise not seating correctly. All else fails....replace the seal.

    Ron