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To test for toilet leaks, use water coloring in the water tank and see if the water slips into the bowl from the tank. This test will indicate if there’s a problem with the flapper or refill tube. You can also put water coloring in the bowl of the toilet to see if there is a leak there. If there is, you should see the colored water on the outside of the toilet bowl or on the floor. 

Yes, frozen pipes can cause a toilet to stop working correctly. If the pipes are frozen, water cannot flow, which can lead to two main problems. First, the supply line to the toilet tank may be frozen, which prevents the tank from refilling with water after you flush. Second, the drain pipe itself can freeze, blocking water from flushing away. As a temporary solution for a non-refilling tank, you can manually add water, but this is not a long-term fix. To clear a frozen drain pipe, you can try pouring warm water into the toilet bowl or tank and then flushing, as the warm water may help thaw the ice blockage. Ultimately, the best course of action is to unfreeze the affected pipes to restore your toilet to full functionality.

While gasket-sealed PVC flanges are the type most commonly found in homes, flanges come in a range of different materials, including copper, brass, stainless steel, cast iron, and aluminum, that pros sometimes secure with glue. If this is the case in your bathroom, the replacement is a job better left to the pros.

If you notice that your toilet is leaking puddles near the base, the leak is coming from your toilet bowl, and the water could be unsanitary. This is a situation that needs to be dealt with immediately—call a nearby plumbing repair pro right away. A contained leak from tank to bowl is not as urgent a situation, but it could be raising the cost of your water bill—have it looked at as soon as you can.