A dump ceiling and walls also make the house really cold and uninhabitable. When you notice water leaking from your basement ceiling, you would be well advised to quickly replace the wax ring, lest you will have to replace the entire ceiling. Sometimes when the wax ring is leaking, instead of the water pooling around the toilet base it penetrates through the floor causing the basement ceiling to start leaking or just be dump.This happens especially when you have caulked around your toilet. This can result into more expensive repairs. The problem with having stagnant water on your bathroom floor for too long is that it might cause it or the subfloor to start rotting especially if it’s wooden. If indeed it is a leaking wax ring you will need to replace it as soon as possible. It therefore helps to do a little investigation to find the source of the water. Sometimes you might have a leaking toilet tank, water supply line or shut off valve. You should however be carefully since it is not always when water pools round your toilet that you have a leaking wax ring. How this happens is that every time someone flushes the toilet some water does not flow down the drainpipe but rather leaks out through the wax ring. If you ever notice water collecting around the base of your toilet, it is one of the clearest indications that your wax ring is leaking. These are the telltale signs that your toilet wax ring is bad and a replacement is needed. Due to varied reasons however, sometimes it will not work as anticipated and will therefore need to be replaced. How Do I Know a Toilet Wax Ring is bad?Ī toilet wax ring can last for many decades or as long as the toilet will last.

If the flange is installed below the floor level you will need the double thickness wax ring. A wax ring will either have a standard thickness or a double thickness.Īs a rule of thumb, if the toilet flange is installed flush of the floor you will need a standard thickness wax ring. Most wax rings are fortunately designed to fit in both 4 and 3-inch drainpipes.Īnother important measurement is the wax thickness. It is also possible that your drainpipe has an old size so make sure you measure. Most toilet drainpipes have a standard size of 3 or 4 inches. It is also important to note down the size of the toilet drainpipe. Use that measurement to buy a new wax ring toilet outlet Measure the outside diameter of the toilet outlet which is also called an elbow neck. To determine the size of wax ring to buy, remove your toilet and lay it on its side.

Toilet wax rings are universal but the size has to be right. While buying a new wax ring, you will need to make sure that you buy one which will fit into your your toilet. The name closet flange dates back to the time flush toilets were known as water closets. Toilet bolts on each side of the toilet are used to firmly hold the toilet on the floor and also squeeze it hard against the wax ring creating a watertight seal.Ī toilet flange which is also known as a closet flange is a circular pipe fitting that is used to secure the toilet to floor and also connect it to the drainpipe. Rubber gasket seals have in recent times proved to be an excellent alternative to wax rings.Ī wax ring is mounted on top of the toilet flange and then the toilet is installed on top of it. Last Updated on by toilethaven What is a Toilet Wax Ring?Ī toilet wax ring is a ring of molded wax on a short plastic pipe that is used to create a water tight seal between the bottom of the toilet and the drainpipe.

Old toilet wax ring