How to Replace a Toilet

Do you live in a house built before 1994? If so, you may be flushing down more water than you think every time you use the toilet. If you are someone that pays water and sewer bills, you can say that you are literally flushing money down the drain each time you press that toilet lever. Even if you don’t pay for water, and you have a private well and septic, high water use can put a strain on the private sewer system, and reduce the operational life. Also, using more water than you actually need negatively impacts the environment.

Many older homes still have toilets installed that use a ton of water per flush. Toilets built before 1982 can use up to 5 to 7 gallons per flush. In 1994, the EPA mandated that all toilets should use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush. Although some early models of lower water use toilets did not perform very well, the technology has improved and newer models work as well as we need them to. So if you have one of those old toilets, it’s time to replace it.

In most cases, replacing a toilet is a pretty straight forward job, and most handy homeowners can do it themselves. However, some jurisdictions require permits to replace a toilet, so check into that before you start pulling an old toilet out. Another thing to check before starting a toilet replacement, is to see if the original toilet is loose at the floor. If so, there is a possibility of water damage below the toilet, and the toilet replacement may require other repairs that may be beyond the skillset of many homeowners. If your existing toilet is loose, and has been for some time, you should anticipate possibly having to hire a contractor to complete the task if you end up finding out that the subfloor is damaged.

If there is no damage to the floor, replacing a toilet is as simple as turning off the water valve, removing the water supply hose, draining the toilet, and removing two nuts that secure the toilet base. It may be hard to remove all the water from the bowl and trap, but there are products that you can put into the toilet which causes the water to become a gel, and that will keep the water from spilling out when removing the toilet, or you can use a sponge or suction device to remove the water.

One of the most important factors when replacing a toilet is the wax seal that needs to be installed properly on the toilet flange. This component is what prevents water from leaking into the floor structure then the toilet flushes. A new wax seal should always be installed when replacing a toilet.
Check out the video below for more information about how to replace a toilet.