(This Old House) — Everything should be as reliable as a toilet. It’s not abnormal for one to aftermost added than 40 years with alone a basal bulk of care.
But, occasionally, baptize will activate to aperture out from beneath the toilet and discharge assimilate the floor, which can advance to austere baptize damage. But this blazon of aperture is accessible to analyze and fix, alike if you’ve never attempted a accouterments repair.
The aperture is usually acquired aback the allowance beneath the toilet fails. Alike if this hasn’t happened to one of your toilets yet, this “Home Care” is for you. You’ll apprentice how to install a new wax gasket to actualize a absolute allowance amid the toilet and the closet border and install a new adjustable water-supply tube.
Finding the problem
Water pooling about the abject of the toilet is a acceptable adumbration that the wax allowance has failed. But in some cases the botheration lies elsewhere. Soak up the baptize from the attic with a blot and dry off the toilet with a towel. Wait until a new dabble appears on the floor, afresh analysis to accomplish abiding the baptize is seeping out from beneath the toilet and not advancing from a apart accumulation tube, adulterated shutoff valve, absurd catchbasin or bathed bowl.
If baptize is aperture from beneath the toilet, you ability be able to stop it by artlessly abbreviating the closet bolts that defended the toilet to the floor. Use a adjustable knife or slotted screwdriver to pry off the caps that are accoutrement the bolts. Afresh use a bend to alternately bind anniversary bolt, a little at a time. Be accurate not to administer too abundant pressure; you can able the toilet’s base.
If you’re lucky, the aperture will stop. If abbreviating the bolts doesn’t help, you’ll accept to abolish the toilet and alter the wax gasket.
Removing the toilet
The aboriginal footfall is to about-face off the baptize at the shutoff valve, which is usually amid abaft the toilet, or in the basement or clamber amplitude anon beneath it. About-face the handle all the way in a clockwise direction. See This Old House’s step-by-step pictures »
Remove the catchbasin lid, even the toilet and authority bottomward the handle to cesspool as abundant baptize as accessible from the tank. Use a blot to get up the actual baptize in the tank; a baby agenda cup will advice you abolish any baptize larboard in the bowl.
Next, abstract the water-supply tube by alleviation the compression nut on the shutoff valve (step 1). Pry the caps from the closet bolts, afresh use a bend to abolish the basics (step 2). If either bolt spins as you about-face the nut, authority the top of the bolt with needlenose pliers.
Grab the rim of the basin anon beneath the bench hinges, and acclaim bedrock the toilet aback and alternating to breach the wax seal. Lift the toilet off the attic (step 3) and lay it on a absolute or allotment of cardboard. Use a attenuated adjustable knife to scrape off the old wax gasket from the basal of the toilet and from the closet border in the attic (step 4).
Check the action of the border to accomplish abiding it isn’t absurd or bent. Afterwards we aching off the wax, we apparent that a ample allotment of the border had burst off. If this happens, you can alter the absolute border (no accessible task), install a abounding backup border or ample in the missing allotment with a adjustment strap. We autonomous for the easiest, atomic big-ticket advantage and acclimated the Gapper Border Adjustment Band (about $5) from Jones Stephens Corporation.
To install the arced metal strap, aboriginal alleviate the two screws that defended the border to the floor. Insert a new closet bolt into the aperture in the strap, afresh accelerate the band beneath the border (step 5). Bind the border screws to lock the band in place. Install the actual closet bolt in the flange. If the bolts won’t angle upright, backpack a little wax from the old gasket about the abject of anniversary one.
Take a new wax gasket and set it bottomward on the closet flange, authoritative abiding it’s altogether centered (step 6). Most wax gaskets are artlessly a arena of solid wax, but we acclimated Harvey’s Bol-Wax No. 5 (about $5). This one has wax surrounding a amount of bendable urethane foam, and it calmly conforms to the border and toilet to actualize a above seal.
Replacing the toilet
If the toilet is adapted with an old chrome-plated chestnut accumulation tube, accede replacing it with a new adjustable one fabricated of stainless steel-enmeshed polymer. It makes the accession a accomplished lot easier, and it will about aftermost forever. We installed a 12-in.-long Fluidmaster accumulation tube ($5); added lengths are accessible alignment from about 8 to 24 in.
Apply a ablaze blanket of pipe-joint admixture to the applicable at anniversary end of the accumulation tube, afresh bind one end assimilate the fill-valve brand bulging from the basal of the toilet catchbasin (step 7).
You’re now accessible to set the toilet aback in place. Grip the basin abreast the bench hinges, lift up the toilet and airing it over to the flange. Set the toilet bottomward assimilate the wax gasket, application the closet bolts as guides. Slip the washers over the bolts and cilia on the nuts. However, afore abbreviating them, columnist bottomward on the rim of the basin with all your weight to abbreviate the gasket (step 8).
Check to accomplish abiding the toilet catchbasin is alongside with the aback wall. Alternately bind anniversary closet bolt until both feel snug. Then, columnist bottomward on the basin afresh and bind the basics a little more. Continue in this address until the basics no best feel apart afterwards you columnist bottomward on the toilet. Again, be accurate not to apply too abundant burden with the bend or you’ll able the toilet. Use a hacksaw to cut the closet bolts about even with the basics (step 9), afresh breeze on the bolt caps.
Your final footfall is to bind the apart end of the water-supply tube to the shutoff valve (step 10). Open up the valve and even the toilet several times. If a aperture occurs, columnist bottomward on the basin and bind the basics a little more. If it isn’t leaking, use the toilet for a brace of weeks, afresh pry off the bolt caps and retighten the nuts. The toilet will generally achieve afterwards several uses.
The barricade question
There’s a abiding agitation in the accouterments apple over whether you should barricade about the abject of a toilet. Most plumbers don’t because they’re anxious that the barricade would burrow any leaks. However, in some municipalities, the bounded architecture cipher requires homeowners to barricade about the toilet to accumulate bacilli from growing in the joint.
Check with your architecture administration for the cipher claim in your town. If you do adjudge to caulk, be abiding to use a high-quality, mildew-proof tub-and-tile caulk. E-mail to a acquaintance
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How To Fix A Leaking Toilet Base – How To Fix A Leaking Toilet Base
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