Do you notice a small pool of water where your toilet meets the floor? Does the floor around the toilet feel spongy? Is the finished flooring coming up? If so, you probably have a bad seal between the toilet horn (where the waste exits) and the drain line.
Don’t procrastinate any longer. Small leaks trapped beneath the toilet will eventually rot floor surfaces, and even the underlying framing. Wait too long and repair costs rise, especially when you figure in replacing finished flooring and sometimes underlayments, subfloors or even the framing.
In this article, we’ll show you some tips for pulling the toilet (Photos 1 – 3) and then how to diagnose and fix the common causes of leaks. Finally, we’ll show you how to reset the toilet. After pulling the toilet and examining the evidence, you may get lucky and just have to replace the wax ring and remount the toilet. If that’s the case, you’ll have the stool back on-line in under an hour. You’ll find the products we suggest for making repairs at any home center or well-stocked hardware store.