So, late last week I was in our basement when I heard noise. It wasn’t a good noise. It was the sound of water hitting the ceiling of the basement bathroom. Thankfully there is an access panel there, and I stuck my head up there and sure enough the toilet was leaking when it was flushed (again – happened when we moved in). Also, thankfully there wasn’t much evidence of water up there. I think it had just started. But that meant I had to figure out what was going on. Due to the craziness of life I wasn’t able to get to it until Saturday afternoon.
I got some towels and had someone flush the toilet again, and some water came down, but not a lot. It was pretty clear to me that the wax ring had lost its seal. That meant I had to take the toilet off the floor and replace it.
Getting the toilet off wasn’t a big deal. I made a quick call to my father to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything before taking the toilet apart. Then I turned the water off, and I had to flush it one more time to get all the water out of the tank to make it light enough to move. Then I was able to loosen the nuts and remove the toilet. That was when I saw, and remembered, that due to tile being installed sometime after the house was originally built, it takes 2 wax rings that are stacked to create a proper seal. I had 1 “extra tall” wax ring already, but it wasn’t tall enough to complete the gap and create a correct seal. So, off to Lowes, and I got what I needed. Then I put the two wax rings on, reattached the toilet to the floor and waited. I know you don’t really need to do this, but I wasn’t taking any chances. So, after my bike ride, I had someone flush the toilet while I was watching from below, and…
No leaks – (relief occurred).
I am very blessed to be able to have the means to makes these repairs, and the knowledge base to make the repairs.
Hope you had a fun weekend as well.