How to Replace a Wax Ring on Your Toilet

Ok, so your toilet’s leaking from the base everytime you flush it, huh? That’s usually a good sign that the wax ring has gone bad. Another is that you have an brown-to-yellow colored film starting to ooze from the base. You CANNOT turn the blind eye to this as it can create massive damage in the long run. Over a period of time the water will soak through your floor and down into the wooden subfloor below. This can cause anything from softness in the floor to rotting and even mold! Also, having your entire floor cut out and replaced from the floor joists up is a hefty bill; as opposed to a few bucks for a new ring and some sweat on your brow.

Tools Needed:
-Adjustable Wrench
-Pliers
-A flat scraping tool

Supplies needed:
-Wax ring
-Supply line (optional)
-Bowl-to-floor bolts (optional)

First off make sure that it is the wax ring. If there’s a ceiling downstairs a dead give away is water marks from right below the toilet. Take your time to investigate! Flush it a few times; look for water around the base or the spot downstairs to grow. Wax rings are often blamed for damage done by more subtle issues like a pinhole in the drain/supply pipes, heavy amounts of condensation dripping down onto the floor, a bad supply line, a leaking packing nut on the supply stop, or even a hairline crack in the back of the bowl. Make sure to feel the tank-to-bowl bolts for moisture, too. If you’ve checked these things and found them all to be ok then it’s almost positively your wax seal gone bad.

The wax ring is a seal that goes in between the underbelly of the toilet and the flange that ensures that everytime you flush the water is going down the drain. It is composed of a very, very sticky form of wax. Over time with pressure applied to the toilet and enough flushes it deteriorates There’s a variety of brands, sizes, and ways of doing replacing a bad wax ring. The next step, though, is removing the toilet. Cut off the water supply at the stop and remove the supply line.

On standard toilets there are two bolts that are secured onto the flange to shoot up through holes on either side of the base of the toilet. They’re then tightened down with a washer and a nut. This squeezes the seal tight and holds the toilet in place. Sometimes these bolts (bowl-to-floor) have plastic caps to hide them. Simply remove the caps. If it has been some time since installation or if there was ever a leak that might have left them moist, they can be a REAL pain to get off. First try an adjustable wrench to loosen them. If you’re having trouble right off the bat give it some WD-40. If this doesn’t work you’ll have to resort to either a reciprocating saw, hacksaw, or bolt cutters. Once these are removed you’re actually ready to pull the toilet.

Toilets are heavy. Period. Even the ultra-modern ones can really strain your back. Take your time and do it carefully, making sure to lift with your legs. Be sure, also, that your toilet is not caulked down to the floor. You’ll absolutely have to cut al lthe caulk if it is. Ok so if your tub is right next to your toilet you may be able to lay out a garbage bag in the tub (wax can be a problem to clean) and just set the removed toilet inside. If there’s nothing that convenient and you have enough room in your bathroom to just set it on the floor next to you, go ahead. Make sure to set it on something like a trash bag or cardboard. Also make sure you keep it as level as possible; if you tilt the toilet foward or back an inch too much you’re taking a shower. Using something like a putty knife, five-in-one, or drywall knife scrape the remaining wax from the flange. If there’s a horn (rubber gasket going into the flange), pull that out too.

Break open your new wax ring and secure it either onto the bottom of the toilet or the top of the flange. I personally like to use extra thick wax rings with the built in horn to ensure that there are no leaks once the job is completed or anytime in the near future. Once you’ve made up your mind on where to put the wax ring and have it down it’s time to reset the toilet. As always be very careful when lifting! The hardest part of installing a toilet is either lifting/setting it or making sure you set it down onto the bolts properly. There are a lot of different ways to keep it on course with the bolts, the two easiest being either to use speed nuts to hold the bolts onto the flange or to secure a straw on top of each bolt to use as a guide.

Once your toilet is set it’s all downhill. Tighten down the bowl-to-floor bolts with their respective nuts and cap them off with bolt caps. If the bolts are too high you can use the same tools that I suggested to remove them to cut them down to size. Be careful not to cut them too short or at too much of an angle or you won’t be able to get the nuts back on. DO NOT overtighten your bowl-to-floor bolts or you risk cracking the toilet. A hairline crack on the bowl will not leak right away but over time your bowl might crack in half some time down the road. This is a gigantic mess and a very shocking experience to say the least.

Hook up your supply line, cut your water back on, and you’re good to go. Flush the toilet a few times just to be sure that you’ve tightened and installed everything properly. If you’re without water than the job is a success.

Congrats!