Strange Problem - Water drains from bowl

I have a strange problem which has become progressivly worse over the last two weeks.

After flushing my toilet everything drains properly. The bowl fills up. Just the way it's supposed to work.

Then, about 60-90 minutes later the water which was in the bowl is gone.

I see no visable cracks at the base of the bowl - and the toilet has not been moved in over three years. We have not kicked it or bumped it and there doesn't appear to be any leakage.

Any thoughts on this? I'm perplexed.

John

You may have developed a crack in the trapway of the toilet.

I have also seen where someting that soaks up water (a piece of cloth, toilet paper, etc.) is stuck in the top of the trap and wicks all of the water from the bowl to the other side. You can see this happen if you place a damp cloth hanging halfway over the edge of a pitcher full of water. in a while all of the water in the pitcher that the cloth was touching will be on the counter... Use a closet auger to see if there is anything stuck in there. Children flush the oddest things...

Have you been filling your dog's water dish?

Deb

If you have something wicking the water away, you can generally get it with a shop vac. Also, with the water out, you can take a small mirror and look up into the trap to inspect for anything that shouldn't be there.
Deb
The Pipewench

So I did a little science experiment this morning. I dropped some food coloring into the bowl to see which way the water was going.

Surprisingly enough, the water is leaving from the small port at the front of the toilet (the smaller port which shoves water though the big port to create the vaccuum.)

Does this eliminate the whicking theory?

I'm ready to order a new toilet!

Terry - thanks for the quick response. I hope that it's not a crack but if it is, so be it.

Everyone else, thank you so much for your feedback. I really appreciate it much. As a newer homeowner this stuff will come in handy!

John

Possible Clogged Drain

Is the toilet on the ground floor level?
The drain line downstream of the toilet could be clogged or restricted, filling with water then draining slowly creating a siphon action.

If you mean the food coloring allowed you to actually observe water flow,and it was going to the inlet as you suggest, this does tend to indicate a crack in the porcelain somewhere. It is time to pull up the toilet. The food dye may reveal the crack.