What is the ring under the toilet called?

What is the ring under the toilet called?

Behind every good toilet—or, rather, beneath—is a good wax ring. The wax ring is exactly what it sounds like: a ring made of sticky wax that helps form a watertight seal between the bottom of the toilet and the sewer pipe. It requires no maintenance and can last 30 or more years, often as long as the toilet itself.

Can you install a toilet with multiple wax rings?

You can certainly install a toilet with multiple wax rings, in fact sometimes it is necessary to make sure you don’t have a leak. The most common case is when a homeowner will install a tile floor (or really any thick floor).

Why does the wax ring on my toilet wobble?

The toilet wobbles because it is resting on the floor instead of the wax ring. This is very common and means your toilet flange, which is what the toilet is bolted to, is below your floor level and should be raised to slightly above the floor height. This often happens when resurfacing a floor that was linoleum with tile.

Can a broken wax ring cause a leak?

If the toilet wobbles for a long time it will finally break the wax ring seal resulting in a leaking toilet. If the toilet flange is broken, it will need to be replaced.

When do you need to replace a toilet ring?

If you toilet ring is bad causing water to leak or bringing in bad odors in your bathroom, you will definitely have to replace it. Replacing a wax ring toilet is not a quick repair since you will need to first remove the toilet. It is however an easy task that you can comfortably do without the need to call in a plumber.

Why do I need to replace the wax ring on my toilet?

Water can damage the subfloor enough to affect the strength of the mounting bolts attaching the toilet flange — and the toilet — to the floor. Determine whether you need to cut away the damaged subfloor and replace it.

If the toilet wobbles for a long time it will finally break the wax ring seal resulting in a leaking toilet. If the toilet flange is broken, it will need to be replaced.

What happens if you break the wax seal on the toilet?

Under normal conditions, you won’t have any problems. If something DOES go wrong, though, the problems it can cause will be expensive if you don’t take care of them. If the wax seal breaks, the toilet will leak. However, most of the water will leak underneath the floor.

How do you remove the wax from a toilet?

Clean the wax ring from the bottom of the toilet and base of the flange by scraping it away with a putty knife or paint scraper. Remove the mounting bolts and screws.