Ideal Standard Close Coupling Ring Washer Doughnut Toilet WC Cistern

Product Information

I have not yet mounted the cistern on the toilet, but I have the feeling that something is not right. 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. As the issue would also only present itself after the toilet is flushed then this could potentially appear as a failed seal between the cistern and pan. This would also coincide with a newly installed toilet.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.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. Take off the cistern lid and disconnect the push button or similar flush mechanism and put the lid safely to one side. 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. 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. However this issue would not just become apparent after flushing the toilet, there would be a constant leak.

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. 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

How to Repair a Leaking Close Coupled Toilet

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!! 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.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.

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?? 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.

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With everything cleaned and ready refit, pop the brand new doughnut down on top of the toilet cistern in it’s recess making sure that it is sitting correctly and flat on the toilet pan.