I just bought a new house that was built three months ago. I unfortunately flushed something big down the toilet and had to take the toilet apart, turn it upside down, and fish it out. When I was finished I simply placed the toilet back and bolted it down. Well now my father is telling me you have to replace the bees wax every time you take the toilet off. Is that true? I can't imagine you have to replace the wax if its only three months old.
Plumbing – When to replace a toilet’s wax ring
pipeplumbingplumbing-fixturesewertoilet
Related Solutions
That's most likely a copper pipe covered in solder. You can try scraping the solder off to see if you get down to some copper to verify. A copper pipe cutter is cheap and easy to use:
Get this onto the pipe a close to the valve as you can, tighten the screw until it's snug, and spin it around the pipe making sure to keep spinning on the same location (you're making a cut, not treading the pipe or making a spiral). After every few turns, tighten the screw a little more and eventually the pipe will break off. Clean the pipe with some emery paper, and install a new compression style valve (this only requires a few wrenches (crescent or fixed, not a pipe wrench or pliers if you want to avoid teeth marks). If you removed too much of the pipe, you may need to replace the escutcheon with a flatter style.
Before you start verify that the supply line or tank isn't leaking , dripping down the back of the bowl and flowing around the base. If that looks good I would pull up the toilet and at the least replace the wax ring. I say at the least because most times the bolts get loose for a reason. It may be a cracked flange, broken bolt, rotted floor etc. You have no idea how long it has been leaking before you noticed it. By taking up the toilet you can examine the flange, the floor, the subfloor and the bottom of the toilet to determine the cause of the leak. This will allow repairs to be done in the earliest stage. It will be easier to repair the flange if that is the issue then to wait and have to replace a piece of rotted subfloor.
Related Topic
- Toilet leaks 4-6 months after wax ring replacement
- Plumbing – Toilet bubbles and gurgles after capping vent stack
- Toilet occasionally runs shortly after flushing
- Plumbing – How to remove roots in sewage drain
- Plumbing – flush 1 toilet while the other one is being fixed
- Plumbing – Running toilet after flushing
- Toilet Leaks – Diagnosing and Fixing Weird Toilet Leaks
Best Answer
You only have to replace the wax ring if the toilet leaks. It's wise to replace it whenever you remove the toilet, though. It's not a matter of age, but the fact that a wax ring is intended to be a single-use item. They squish into place when you set a toilet, and that can't happen very well more than once.
It's certainly possible that you achieved a satisfactory seal when you reinstalled the toilet. If you're willing to wait and see, and take the risk of (potentially smelly) water damage to your floor, go with it.