I have replaced a number of wax rings over the years that have failed in places I have lived or for family or friends and I was wondering if anyone preemptively replaces them? I would think that if a toilet is setting on a firm surface such as concrete and it is seated perfectly, that they would never go bad.
As we know there is rarely a perfect situation though. There is always usually some unnoticed minute movement somewhere when getting up and down off the toilet, over time this "wears" the wax ring or the wax ring simply hardens to the point it is no longer effective.
I installed the toilet I am concerned about 9 years ago and have no issues. The floors in my house are nowhere near the most solid and sometimes when you sit down on the toilet or walk in the right spot on the floor you get a pop or creak, so there obviously is some movement, even if you cant feel it or see it. (I am not talking about a toilet that rocks or a spongy floor, just your typical creaks and pops of an older house)
I am wondering if I should pull the toilet and put a new wax seal down. I really dont want to wait until it becomes an issue and rots the floor out. There is a gap in the caulk behind the toilet to see if any water were to run out, but in my experience a wax ring failure usually starts so small and goes on for so long it is a long time until you discover the damage.
So what is the general lifespan of wax rings in your experiences? I always use Harveys IIRC, and I get the ones with the funnel built in. I have never had one I have replaced fail, but this is the longest I have ever had one in service that I replaced.
10,15,20 years? Research I have seen says on a heavily used toilet that 5 to 10 years could be expected, but in some cases they last indefinitely.I think the one on the toilet in our basement is 40 years old and original, but I have no way of knowing, but that toilet sits on concrete and rarely gets used.
The other thing is that I have seen wax-less seals in the home improvement stores recently. Has anyone ever used one of these? Are they better? Worse? indifferent? I would think they would hold up better to any movement, but who knows.
My thought is just to change it, its easy enough, and cheap enough. If I do change it I am toying with the idea of a wax-less, but might go with what has always worked for me.
As we know there is rarely a perfect situation though. There is always usually some unnoticed minute movement somewhere when getting up and down off the toilet, over time this "wears" the wax ring or the wax ring simply hardens to the point it is no longer effective.
I installed the toilet I am concerned about 9 years ago and have no issues. The floors in my house are nowhere near the most solid and sometimes when you sit down on the toilet or walk in the right spot on the floor you get a pop or creak, so there obviously is some movement, even if you cant feel it or see it. (I am not talking about a toilet that rocks or a spongy floor, just your typical creaks and pops of an older house)
I am wondering if I should pull the toilet and put a new wax seal down. I really dont want to wait until it becomes an issue and rots the floor out. There is a gap in the caulk behind the toilet to see if any water were to run out, but in my experience a wax ring failure usually starts so small and goes on for so long it is a long time until you discover the damage.
So what is the general lifespan of wax rings in your experiences? I always use Harveys IIRC, and I get the ones with the funnel built in. I have never had one I have replaced fail, but this is the longest I have ever had one in service that I replaced.
10,15,20 years? Research I have seen says on a heavily used toilet that 5 to 10 years could be expected, but in some cases they last indefinitely.I think the one on the toilet in our basement is 40 years old and original, but I have no way of knowing, but that toilet sits on concrete and rarely gets used.
The other thing is that I have seen wax-less seals in the home improvement stores recently. Has anyone ever used one of these? Are they better? Worse? indifferent? I would think they would hold up better to any movement, but who knows.
My thought is just to change it, its easy enough, and cheap enough. If I do change it I am toying with the idea of a wax-less, but might go with what has always worked for me.
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