Originally Posted by
Zachary Hoyt
I was happy a month or so ago when I ran all the new plumbing in the house and didn't have any leaks, but today a very odd leak developed that I can't understand. It is under the upstairs toilet. There is a slow seep of clear water coming out constantly between the 3" PVC coupler and the pipe below the flange. It drips about once a minute. I dried the pipe and made sure I was seeing just where the water was coming from. It's clear that I didn't get a good glue joint on that fitting and I'll need to cut it out and replace it, but the second part that I don't understand is where the water is coming from. It seems like there shouldn't be water there except when the toilet is flushed, and then only momentarily, since the pipe is vertical. Is there something wrong inside the toilet that could allow water to be getting to the joint between the flange and the coupler and the rest of the pipe, or is capillary action somehow responsible? I'll be very grateful for any advice.