Toilets, Sinks, Showers, Tubs and Disposals - Leak coming through the ceiling

Last night while watching TV I heard water dripping in the kitchen. Went over and looked up and saw water dripping from the light canister in the ceiling. Thinking that the bathtub or the toilet was over flowing upstairs I ran upstairs and found nothing. Went back down stairs, pulled out the light canister and found water pooled up on top of the ceiling drywall and between the floor joist. After sponging up the water I collected about 1 gal. of water. My son had flushed the toilet earlier and I'm assuming the water came from the flush. Although their is no water around the bottom of the toilet, could the wax ring be bad? Or is there a more serious problem with the drainage pipe. Our house is 14 years old.

First thing I'd do if you suspect it is pull up the toilet and replace the wax ring (I usually double ring toilets - one ring with the plastic funnel and one without stacked). If that doesn't solve the problem you could put some dye in the toilet and flush it to see if that is the source. HAs it been raining lately? - you could also have a leak from the outside.

I would not pull a toilet on the outside chance that the seal has failed. The first thing to do is to positively identify the leak. Unfortunately, that may mean opening up more of your ceiling so that you can see the piping. If your ceiling is drywall the damage may already have been done.

I would operate each bathroom fixture in turn while watching for leaks. It could be a drain problem or a supply problem.

Are there any pipes visible in the area where the water had collected? What fixture is immediately over the joist bay where the leak was?

I would not pull a toilet on the outside chance that the seal has failed. The first thing to do is to positively identify the leak. .............

If that seal has been in there for 14 years its probably a good time to check it out. And it really is not a big deal to pull a toilet. If its not leaking at least that is one thing they can rule out.

The OP is looking for help correcting a leak. Yanking a toilet because the seal has reached a certain age is counterproductive. If the leak can be traced to the toilet, that is the time to change the seal.

Do you routinely pull your toilets and replace the seal just because it's been there for a while? I also read that you always use a double wax ring. Why? If the flange is properly mounted a single ring will do the job just fine.

I learned something a long time ago that has worked well for me - "if it ain't broke don't fix it!"

Do you routinely pull your toilets and replace the seal just because it's been there for a while? ........

Yep. I'd much rather deal with the extra work of occasionally pulling a toilet than with the water damage and rot caused by a leaking $2.00 seal.

What's your replacement schedule? Is it weekly, annual, every 6 months, once a decade? How did you arrive at that schedule?

Any old salts out there remember a pre-PMS maintenance program called POMSEE? Same concept.

What's your replacement schedule? Is it weekly, annual, every 6 months, once a decade? How did you arrive at that schedule?

When I have a concern I pull the toilet. Takes me 15 minutes and I can check out the hardware.

Any old salts out there remember a pre-PMS maintenance program called POMSEE? Same concept.

Performance, Operation, Maintenance of Shipboard Electronic Equipment. So what? What does that have to to with this discussion?

Arguing over the internet is like winning the Special Olympics. You may be a winner but you're still a retard. I'm done.