So, my toilet makes leaking sounds. When I've looked online for possible solutions, most things says it's the pipes expanding, but it makes more than just dripping sounds. Sometimes it sounds like a rainstorm coming from the base, but there is no physical evidence of any problems. The noises can occur before or after flushing, last a long or short time; I can't find a pattern to what causes it. This all makes me super nervous since in the past 5 years I've had issues before, first resulting in the need to replace the subfloor. A year ago an internal leak had caused a small hole in my downstairs neighbor's ceiling and the wax ring was simply replaced. The wax ring and tank parts have all been replaced before. Do I need to get someone to look at it? What do they look for if there's nothing to see? Thank you!

Plumbers can tell from the sound what the most likely issue could be causing the problem. We can't tell frrom what you have said so far.

All I can say is that it sounds like water dripping into water. :( It's not the sound of the toilet running. I'm just at a loss of what to do, since the plumber who fixed it last time was in there and still didn't know what the problem was...

If a plumber on site can't figure it out it is likely we can't either since we will hear/see less than him. Maybe try a different plumber. Sorry we could not help.

Juust came back for one little experiment. Put some food coloring in the tank on top, do not flush. Check the bowl in an hour and tell me if there is colored water in the bowl.

First realize that pipes transmit sound very well. Where you hear the sound may not be where the sound is being created. In your first post you said that it sounded like a rain fall. Now you say that it sounds like water dripping in a pool of water, which is it?

About the only place you could get the sound of water dripping in to pool of water would be at a trap. I would look for places where drops of water could be flowing into a trap. Like, water heater T&P discharge pipe could be dripping into a floor drain. Or where an AC or heater condensate line is tied into a drain. Check all toilets for leaking flapper valves. Turn off water supply to toilets except when in use to see if anything changes.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

If a plumber on site can't figure it out it is likely we can't either since we will hear/see less than him. Maybe try a different plumber. Sorry we could not help.

Juust came back for one little experiment. Put some food coloring in the tank on top, do not flush. Check the bowl in an hour and tell me if there is colored water in the bowl.

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I tried the food coloring trick and no dye leaked into the bowl.

I know it's kind of a hard problem to solve online, I was perhaps just curious if it sounded like a typical issue that came up a lot. I appreciate you replying at all.

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

First realize that pipes transmit sound very well. Where you hear the sound may not be where the sound is being created. In your first post you said that it sounded like a rain fall. Now you say that it sounds like water dripping in a pool of water, which is it?

About the only place you could get the sound of water dripping in to pool of water would be at a trap. I would look for places where drops of water could be flowing into a trap. Like, water heater T&P discharge pipe could be dripping into a floor drain. Or where an AC or heater condensate line is tied into a drain. Check all toilets for leaking flapper valves. Turn off water supply to toilets except when in use to see if anything changes.

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The sounds can change, but in general it's that of water into water, as opposed to a running tank. By rain, I just meant that it's more water than a single drip. I know, hard to describe accurately online.

I'll keep your suggestions in mind, and I'll try turning off the water supply. If it were the trap, is it possible to say if I should be concerned about it leaking into my neighbor's ceiling? That is what I'm most paranoid about.

Thank you for your response.