If you have ever taken a look at the base of your toilet where it meets the floor in your Pasadena home, you may have noticed a bead of caulk sealing the base of the toilet to the floor. While this watertight seal is important, there is actually a more important seal hidden within the base of the toilet.
Inside, your toilet sits on a wax ring that serves to keep sewer odors from wafting into the room, seal water from leaking from the bathroom plumbing and provides a degree of stability to the toilet installation. You may need to replace that seal if:
- You notice leaking water at the base of the toilet.
- You smell sewer odors in your bathroom.
- The toilet is unstable or rocks side to side at all.
- The toilet was removed temporarily for any reason, such as replacing it or putting down new flooring.
As it happens, replacing the toilet seal is a fairly simple and inexpensive operation that you can do on your own. To take care of this job yourself, follow these 16 steps:
- Shut off the water supply.
- Empty the bowl and tank by flushing the toilet. You may have to flush twice.
- Get the bowl and tank completely dry by soaking up any remaining water with a sponge, rag or towel.
- Remove the bolts that attach the base of the toilet to the floor.
- Disconnect the supply line the leads into the toilet.
- Gripping the bowl, rock the toilet gently back and forth to break the seals.
- Lift the toilet free from the floor.
- Now you can see the remnants of the old wax ring. Remove all that thoroughly.
- Place the new seal in place of the old one, centering it exactly, with the rounded side up.
- Replace the toilet over the seal and flange.
- Have a seat! No, really; this helps to create a new seal between the ring and the toilet.
- Reattach the nuts you removed from the base.
- Reconnect the water line.
- Turn the water supply back on.
- Flush the toilet, looking carefully for any leaks.
- Apply a new bead of caulk to the bottom of the bowl to complete the sealing job.
