Ideal Standard Close Coupling Ring Washer Doughnut Toilet WC Cistern

Product Information

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. 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. Note: There are several different sizes of doughnut so make sure that you get the right one. Measure the diameter of the base of the flush valve in the cistern and then you will know what size doughnut you need to ensure it fits correctly. Then the real trouble began. Given its condition, it came as little surprise when I couldn't get the original close coupling washer to seal properly. I was pleasantly surprised that Screwfix's sister company B&Q sold the washers separately without having to buy the metal part as well so I bought one. 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.

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 toiletsHowever this issue would not just become apparent after flushing the toilet, there would be a constant leak. Take off the cistern lid and disconnect the push button or similar flush mechanism and put the lid safely to one side. I have not yet mounted the cistern on the toilet, but I have the feeling that something is not right. 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.

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. 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.Note: If there is no isolation valve installed then now is an ideal time to install one. See our project on how to fit an isolation valve for help on how to do so. Before doing anything, the first task is to turn off the water supply to the cistern so that you can safely disconnect the flexi hose or other means of connection. 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.

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. I know nothing about plumbing, but since I am a home owner, I thought I should start from somewhere. The sighon of our toilet is worn out and I am trying to replace it with a new one. The toilet is Ideal Standard M360, very old so I had to struggle to remove the bolts, wing nuts etc with some help from DW40. 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. When screwing up these bolts once they are inserted down through the toilet pan, if you don’t tighten them evenly and together so that the cistern is pulled down straight and level then this can also be a cause of leaks as the cistern will sit at an angle and not seal the doughnut correctly. Other Causes of Leaks From Close Coupled Toilets 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! Using a spanner if there are nuts present or your fingers if there are wingnuts, unscrew each nut and then carefully lift the cistern free of the toilet pan. 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.