Toilet Seal Leak

[George Bokros]

Had a plumber install a new wax seal on a toilet. The seal did not seal. Had a small leak, just enough to get some tile grout lines wet. Want to dry the grout lines before reinstalling the toilet correctly. Toilet flange is below the floor and should have had a spacer installed to raise the flange.

Question is how to dry the grout lines before reinstalling the toilet. I want them dry so I can tell if it leaks after installing the proper spacer to raise the flange and a new wax ring. I am thinking to take out the wet grout and dry the cement board thru the grout line with a heat gun then re grout.

Thoughts / suggestions.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Had a plumber install a new wax seal on a toilet. The seal did nto seal. Had a small leak, just enough to get some tile grout lines wet. Want to dry the grout lines before reinstalling the toilet correctly. Toilet flange is below the floor and should have had a spacer installed to raise the flange.

Question is how to dry the grout lines before reinstalling the toilet. I want them dry so I can tell if it leaks after installing the proper spacer to raise the flange and a new wax ring. I am thinking to take out the wet grout and dry the cement board thru the grout line with a heat gun then re grout.

Thoughts / suggestions.First make sure leak is actually at the wax ring. Check both tank bolts, then after flushing toilet, run hand down back of trap on toilet bowl. FIL had a new toilet installed, which leaked. Replaced both tank bolts and wax ring, and still had leaks. Finally ran hand down back of toilet bowl at siphon, and it was wet, meaning there was a small crack. So small you couldn't see it, but water could find it. Some food dye in the bowl could help find this type of leak. As for drying out, time is your friend. FYI, a sheet of newspaper laid under tank on toilet will show any leaks. Because tile is wet, it will need to be elevated from tile. P-1 plumbing licensee in working years

[Rich Engelhardt]

Toilet flange is below the floor and should have had a spacer installed to raise the flange.Absolutely.
Either that or a Fluidmaster Better Than Wax.<--all my plumber ever uses anymore.

[Scott Clausen]

+1 on the new non wax seals. They stay flexible and can allow the toilet removed and reinstalled without the messy wax removal.

[George Bokros]

I did the food coloring test and found no evidence of a crack.

More info........

The only evidence is the wet grout near the front of the toilet. Upon removal of the toilet the top of the wax seal looked lit it just came out of the package. Water was present on the top of was seal.

The sewer flange is below the floor since the ceramic tile was installed so I have been told to put a spaced on the flange to bring it to floor level or slightly above the floor then the wax seal will seal.

I think the sealing issue will be solved but my delimma is drying the grout. I am going to remove the small spots of wet grout and replace it. Does that seem like the solution to the grout issue???

[Adam Herman]

fluidmaster non-wax is all I will ever use as well.

[Scott Clausen]

The non wax seal has a greater travel distance so it may be able to work without the spacer flange. I think I have heard that the spacer should get a seal too. My tile is going in this week and its going to be the non wax seal for me.

[Tom M King]

The grout being wet shouldn't harm it. I'd just hit it with Clorox cleanup, and dry it, or let it dry. I'd stuff some paper towels in the pipe opening, to keep sewer gas out of the house, and let a fan blow on it for a while.

[Mel Fulks]

The Sani Seal gasket is what most of the supply places around here like and push. Squishy thick rubber.

[Warren Lake]

with my limited experience each brand had a different flange height as well as wax came in two or three thicknesses. I read Wax does not support bacteria and on any toilet ive ever replaced the only one that failed was where previous owner put the toilet in and didnt shim there and in time it rocked on the ceramic. Right or wrong I still shim them level then caulk all the way around but leave a bit at the back in case there ever was a water leak it would be apparent. so far guess ive lucked out.

The die test is important and I was told you should do it once a month, that is colour in the top bowl see if it ends up in the bottom. One fancy Toto I put in the fill valve did have issues in time, dirt affect them more than old school ball things and sure enough water was going through. I stepped up the leak test or how I was told to instead shut the water going in off., put die in and mark it with a sharpie. That is better than just the die, you know your reference line and if any water is lost you will see it two ways but you see how much.

I have a number of rubber ones but for some reason always go back to the wax ones, guess cause ive never had one fail.

Do remember I used to flip a toilet over and put a straight edge on it to see how much space there was between the toilet flange one the base and the floor. Any shimming done would increase the distance there.

[Ken Combs]

IMHO, there is no need to remove grout. Just block the opening to prevent 'updraft' of sewer gas. Treat the grout with bleach or bathroom cleanser. Then use a hair dryer, heat gun or fan and time to dry the surface. Lots of ways to solve the s'pace issue, spacer, plain wax ring+a cant leak brand with the plastic extender or the newer non-wax solutions. They all work

[Barry McFadden]

I would have the plumber come back and do the job properly.....

[Bill Dufour]

To seal open pipe place rubber ball or a paint can on it. Just make sure it is more then big enough it can not fall in. Even a piece of 2x6 or tile will work.
Bill D

[Jim Koepke]

FYI, a sheet of newspaper laid under tank on toilet will show any leaks.

This is also a great way to find the origin of a leak under a sink. Cheap and easy.

jtk

[Mike Henderson]

Absolutely.
Either that or a Fluidmaster Better Than Wax.<--all my plumber ever uses anymore.

I agree. Someone turned me on to that product and it's much better than wax.

Mike

[Matt Day]

As Barry said, why are you fixing what the plumber did wrong?

And grout should dry in a few hours by evaporation. Not sure why this an issue. Just the other day I had my kids toilet off because it was rocking. Turns out the plastic better than wax seal was slightly crimped when installed and let water out which rotted the subfloor, and the toilet flange screws pulled out. Make sure the seal is installed properly when you put the toilet back on.

[Bill Dufour]

Thinking about it a modern low flow toilet should never leak if the drain line is built correctly. There should be enough vertical drop to handle all the liquid and solids in one flush with the seal only getting a little splash back.
Bill D

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I would use a hair drier or a heat gun on a low setting to dry the grout line. It's the air flow, not the heat so much.
Did you pay the plumber by credit card? Sometimes a "dispute" will get them back faster than endless phone calls.

[Warren Lake]

ive never had wax fail but looked at the fluid master you tube and that looks sensible. One thing I didnt see in a fast watch of the you tube was mention of the flange height relating to manufacturer. The last two toilets I put in manufacturers called for different flange heights. I think I flipped both of those toilets and put a straight edge across to measure and see what I was working with plus whatever is added from leveling with shims.

The you tube said one thing that plunging a toilet can blow the wax out, I can see the logic in that sort of then not really at the same time, there is a plastic part in the wax ring that extends into the floor flange not sure how much pressure plunging could actually get back to the wax ring.

[Tom M King]

One of the few things that has improved in the past few years, is toilet bolts. When I was building new houses, a long time ago, I made my own out of stainless steel bolts that came up from under the subfloor. Now, you can buy nice stainless steel ones in the box stores, even. Just don't get carried away with how much you crank on them. The brass coated steel ones (often sold as "brass") aren't worth using for anything.

I like the screw on bolt caps too, better than the snap on ones.

I put in a toilet riser (raises total height of even a tall toilet) for my 105 year old Mother. I bought two of the new foamies for the install, but they were too thick, and kept both pieces from sealing down tight to the floor, and each other. Fortunately, I had plenty of wax seals accumulated over the years.