Any plumbers here? (warning, kind of gross)

[Feanaro_s_Wife]

**We have been having an issue with our toilet leaking past the seal and down around the pipe into our basement. We changed the seal when we redid our floors. We put in a floating laminate floor and obviously the seal is not tight enough…

I told hubby right after that floor reno that the toilet seemed to rock a bit from side to side but he didn’t pay much attention. UNTIL he found brown water goo on top of his mini fridge filled with beer.

So is there a certain kind of seal we should use in this case? The one on there now is some kind of permanent one (not those cheap wax kind) and isn’t supposed to need to be changed.**

 

[Marquette]

I’m not a plumber but we had the same problem. We have one of the new fangled water saver toilets so it has a larger pipe going down. We ended up using THREE wax rings (this was told to us by the guy in the plumbing department at one of the biggie home improvement stores) my husband used two of them on top of the edge of the pipe and around the pipe too and the third on the toilet itself, and also we grouted in the space between the toilet and floor after to keep the toilet stable and not rocking. That fixed it for good.

You may want to ask at one of the home improvement stores in your area since you have floating laminate the grout thing may not be applicable–we have terrazzo. We always try to avoid calling in a plumber as they are so expensive.

 

[kittery]

I’m no plumber either, but my father-in-law was, so my DH knows a lot about the trade and he used wax rings on all the toilets in our last house that we remodeled top to bottom. We never had any issues with them… I second the idea of resourcing the staff at a home improvement store and asking if there’s anything special you need to do since you have laminate floors.

 

[hawkeye]

So is there a certain kind of seal we should use in this case? The one on there now is some kind of permanent one (not those cheap wax kind) and isn’t supposed to need to be changed.

Probably better to buy some clear or white silicon whatever is your choice, and dry around the seal.

Then cut the nozzle no more than a quarter inch, and you will need a silicon gun.

To make it water proof you would need to rub right around it with your finger, but you’ll need to keep water handy, because it helps to stop the silicon sticking to your finger. dip your finger ocassionily

As for the toilet being loose, well probably needs re-plugged, or you could try slightly larger screws.

Don’t use a power drill to drive them home though, they can crack the toilet if too much power is applied.

Also it’s better to use rust proof wood screw, or brass, because they can be unsightly.

The area around the seal may not have been cleaned properly in the first-place which could be the reason for it leaking.

And washing up liquid applied to it before putting it on the pipe would stop it being distorted.

But…and this is long winded sorry…but I’d just apply silicon…Ive done so in the past and it lasts for donkeys years.

Probably the best time to apply is when everyone is in bed for the night as it’ll take quite a few hours for the silicon to cure.

 

[rpp]

Water damage is insidious and can be very expensive to repair. Do not delay fixing this.

You may have put the wax seals upside down (depends on the type of toilet). Also, it is possible that the rocking has broken wax the seal, you will want to correct that problem right away. Be sure that all fittings are tight.

If your hubby is handy, this is a fairly simple job, but you will need to pull the toilet apart which means you will need to shut off the water.

Another possibility may be that the brown “goo” is nothing more than water and dissolved rust. The real problems may be that you have a simple leak and water is dripping onto the iron pipe (stack) causing rust and leaching some of the rust away. Check all the water inlet fittings and make sure all these connection used Teflon tape and are tight.

One other cause may be a cracked bowl.

I would discourage using any kind of caulk or silicon sealer as this is not permitted building codes in certain areas.

 

[hawkeye]

I would discourage using any kind of caulk or silicon sealer as this is not permitted building codes in certain areas.

Think it’s ok in Ireland as long as you don’t use it in the drinking water supply, but where you are who knows, I hope Ferno’s wife isn’t going to drink that stuff.

 

[Feanaro_s_Wife]

Think it’s ok in Ireland as long as you don’t use it in the drinking water supply, but where you are who knows, I hope Ferno’s wife isn’t going to drink that stuff.

Oh come on!!! You just ruined my plans for the weekend**… now I’m going to have to find something else to drink**