How to determine where water leak is coming from?

tinaa

 We have water coming up through the grout in our toilet/bathroom. We stopped using the bathroom for a week and it continued to come up. It appears to be in random places and we can’t see any leak from the toilet. How do we determine where the water is coming up from? Is there a pipe under the toilet which could have a leak? 
It’s not a lot of water, we put a napkin on top and the water didn’t wet it. Just hoping to fix it incase it gets worse.

Thank you for your advice 

EricL

Hello @tinaa 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about your toilet.

I suspect that there is a leak under your toilet bowl, specifically where the "U" trap is located. Generally, there are supposed to be no other pipes running under your toilet unless the original builder ran some hot and hold pipes underneath, but it is highly unlikely. What could be happening is the water is getting trapped under the foot or base of the toilet pan and is passing through the grout and sealers and is forcing its way through the top. Water will often flow towards the least point of resistance, and this would happen to be the grout.

Sealing the grout will not actually solve the issue as it will simply find another way through the grout, through your flooring and finally into someplace where it can really do some damage. If you leave this situation for a few more weeks water should start to come out of the foot or base of the toilet as it will start to gather itself inside that enclosed space. 

I'm sorry but there is no D.I.Y. solution to this particular type of damage. I propose engaging the services of a licensed plumber to do a thorough investigation of your toilet and they will make the final call if it needs to be replaced, or they will perhaps find the source of the leak.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric