Wax Ring Seal for Toilett
If your toilet is rocking on the base, or if you have the smell of sewer gas in your bathroom, it may be time to replace the wax ring seal that serves as a connecting gasket between your toilet and the flange at the drainpipe's opening, Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Cover the area of the floor where you will place the toilet after removing it with padding and newspaper. Put on your gloves.
2. Flush the toilet to drain the tank at top. Lift off the cover on the top of the tank and set it aside, out of the way. Remove the remainder of the water in the bowl with a sponge. Tape the toilet seat down to secure it in place.
3. Locate the water-supply shutoff valve and turn it clockwise to shut off the water. Use the crescent wrench to loosen the compression fitting and detach the supply-line from the shutoff valve. Have towels ready to absorb the dribble from the disconnected line.
4. Locate the bolt-covers, which are usually dome-shaped plastic or ceramic caps on the middle of the sides of the toilet base. Remove the caps and, using the crescent wrench, loosen the nut under the cap. Often the nuts are too rusted or corroded to be unscrewed, and will need to be removed with a hacksaw.
5. Lift the toilet off the flange. Do not attempt this unless you can easily pick up loads of 80 lbs. Place legs on both sides of the toilet. Grip the edges of the toilet directly above the bolts on either side. This is the balance point. Twist the toilet from side to side to loosen the old wax seal. Rock slightly from side to side to test if it has become unstuck. If it feels loose enough, raise the toilet about 4 inches to lift it over the bolts.
6. Place the toilet on the newspapers and padding so that the bottom of the base faces upward. Spray the underside of the base with disinfectant. Use scrapers to remove the wax residue.( A solvent, like WD-40 will help in removal and clean-up.) The wax is very sticky, so be careful to place the old wax directly into the garbage bag.
7. Seat the new wax ring on the toilet base. Use moderate pressure and twist the ring slightly from side to side to get it to stick firmly. Some wax rings come with the plastic flange as pictured, which is recommended over the standard plain wax ring.
8. Spray disinfectant around the old wax ring and flange. Remove the old wax ring from flange on the floor with scrapers and solvent.
9. Clean out tracks or notches that hold the toilet bolts. Mark the placement of the bolts. Remove old bolts by sliding them out along the tracks or out of the notches. You sometimes need to tap them gently with a hammer to loosen them and get them moving. Set in new bolts and align them to the markings where the old bolts were.
10. Replace the toilet. First turn toilet on side. Then grasp sides in the middle and roll it until you can lift it up in the normal upright position. It is best to have another person to help align the bolt-holes in the base while re-seating the toilet. Take care to lower the toilet directly from the straight vertical axis to seat new wax ring carefully. Sit on the toilet-seat cover and use your body weight to compress the wax ring, rocking side to side until the toilet base contacts the floor.
11. Bolt toilet in place, using the crescent wrench to tighten nuts and washers. Take care not to over-tighten the bolts, as it is possible to crack the toilet base.
12. It is usually necessary to saw off the bolts to shorten them for fitting under the bolt-caps. Measure the inside height of the cap and cut the bolts to the same length using a hacksaw. One trick is to reverse the blade with the teeth pointing inward, which makes it easier to work the saw in narrow places. Place toilet bolt caps over the bolts when they are snug and the toilet is firmly mounted. Test the mount after a few day's use; if it rocks or wiggles, it may be necessary to retighten the bolts.
13. Reattach the supply line to the shutoff valve by tightening the compression fitting with the crescent wrench.
14. Place new caulk around the base. A round-ended pallet knife can be used to smooth and seal the caulked edges.
Tags: crescent wrench, side side, toilet base, from side, from side side
