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Rich

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Hi all,

I noticed the inside of my toilet bowl had a small crack. No water has been leaking in the bathroom. Just wondering if this is cosmetic or needs an immediate fix?
 

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If it is leaking, the leak may not be obvious.

If you are on a slab, the leak may be absorbed in the ground beneath, however if you are on a wood framed floor system, any leak can be obvious from below, or can eventually result in the deterioration of the floor framing.
 
If it is leaking, the leak may not be obvious.

If you are on a slab, the leak may be absorbed in the ground beneath, however if you are on a wood framed floor system, any leak can be obvious from below, or can eventually result in the deterioration of the floor framing.
Thanks for the response. I didn’t notice an obvious leak at all? It looks like the small crack isn’t deep at all I used a toothpick for measure and it’s maybe like 1/16th of an inch deep. I am on a wood framed floor system.
 
It may well be just cosmetic, yet, the options are yours.

If the WC is a two piece, and depending upon the brand, you may be able to purchase just the bowl alone.
 
WC designs differ, in some designs the leak (if any) might be directly into the drain while with others it might be into an interior compartment or onto the floor.

If I were to attempt a repair I would dry, fill crack with baking soda and saturate with crazy glue (cyanoacrylate glue). However if it's a hidden leak to a wood floor (no matter how small) it could lead to disaster at a later date.
 
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WC designs differ, in some designs the leak (if any) might be directly into the drain while with others it might be into an interior compartment or onto the floor.

If I were to attempt a repair I would dry, fill crack with baking soda and saturate with crazy glue (cyanoacrylate glue). However if it's a hidden leak to a wood floor (no matter how small) it could lead to disaster at a later date.
How would I know if it’s a hidden leak to a wood floor? It looks like the toilet bowl water is never refilling is that a sign it isn’t leaking? And I stuck the toothpick in the very small crack and it’s not deep at all
 
I really don't know, I suspect to be certain you would have to remove it and check underneath.
 
It's up to you, replace the toilet now for an hours labor and less then $200.00, or risk possible thousands of dollars damage or at least have it break at the worst possible time.
 
Replace the toilet.

A slow leak into the flooring is one possibility.

The whole toilet could also collapse while someone is sitting on it.
And the broken pieces of china can be very sharp and jagged, very dangerous.
 
Yep, replace the toilet. When replacing, get a Fluidmaster Better than wax seal instead of using a wax ring. Here's the damage from one of my toilets leaking. I had no idea it was bad until I was taking them out to put in Vinyl flooring anyway.

You might get lucky and there won't be any damage, but regardless, the bowl is history. If there is a lot of damage like mine, report back and we can tell you how to get to my second and third pictures.
 

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