Ideal Standard Close Coupling Ring Washer Doughnut Toilet WC Cistern

Product Information

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. 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. 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. 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. 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?

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. 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. Once installed, the next problem a lot of people encounter is that, the first time they flush a newly fitted close coupled toilet cistern, it leaks. This is such a common problem and 99% of the time the answer is the same. The cistern needs to be fitted at exactly 90° to the toilet pan. This allows the large rubber ring washer, or doughnut to create a proper seal. 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. 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.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.

I have not yet mounted the cistern on the toilet, but I have the feeling that something is not right.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! 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. If however you find that you still have a leak then you will need to remove the cistern again and apply some Plumbers Mait all around the doughnut, top and bottom. Once reassembled this should now fully resolve any leaks.

This is especially important if the leak is with a newly installed close coupled toilet! The through bolts, as stated above, secure the cistern to the toilet by running down through holes in the base of the cistern and top of the toilet. 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 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.

Why is my Close Coupled Toilet Leaking When I Flush??

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. 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.

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??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. Jeez!! Is it just me or did your eyes glaze over after the first few words of this lot?? You would think anyone that can write like that could afford to get a real Plumber to fix it!! Oh well, as I aways say, the educated poor eh!! 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.