Plumbing Part 1

"The Toilet"
Never leave home w/o it, (working)!
So your having a problem with it. No surprise, with all we put down them (toys, golf balls etc.) What did you expect?
1st:
Does it leak? Okay where? The floor at the base, bottom under the tank, shooting out of the top when you open it to locate that running water sound, overflow!!
We'' ll cover these 1st.
The base,
Does it wiggle when you give it a really slight push side to side? okay, check the floor bolts they could be loose. No huh, it's never that easy. If this doesn't fix it, you could have a bad "wax ring". This involves removing the bowl and tank. Get a friend, that thing is heavy! 1st drain it, this is the easy part. Turn off the water supply, (under the tank on the wall) it looks like a valve, done? Now flush the toilet, it will drain but won't refill. Now take a little less than a 1/2 gal. of water and pour it into the bowl, this should get rid of any water left. Unscrew the line from bottom of tank. put a bowl under it, you might get a little water from here, Good, we're ready to remove the floor bolts, you can use a ratchet, open/closed end wrench, or if nothing else works pliers or adjustable wrench. Wiggle the bowl to loosen, it should come free fairly easily. Tilt it forward. Get that friend and lift the bowl & tank off the floor out of the way. You should now see, what appears to be a nasty waxy mess at the hole in the floor. Scrape off the old ring with a flat stick, that paint stirrer you got w/ the paint you bought earlier. Remove the black or white plastic piece inside the hole. Look to see if the "flange"(metal part holding the bolts to the floor) is slightly elevated, small gap btwn. floor & flange. Go to the store and buy wax ring, their fairly universal in size, get the one w/ the sleeve if your "flange" is slightly elevated. W/O the sleeve, if it's flush w/ the floor, Take a photo of the floor bolts (reassembly made easy). Remove all plastic, wrapping etc. from new ring, put it where the old one went, (center it), make sure you can still see the bolts & they point up. Okay, now set the bowl/tank on the new ring, make sure the bolts are there thru the holes on base, push down on it to get it to "seat" wiggle it a bit and push down until it sits. You might have to push down strongly. It shouldn't be more than an 1/8"- 1/4" off the floor now. Add the nuts you removed earlier. tighten them until the bowl seats okay. You shouldn't see a gap on the floor. Tighten a little more if you do. now make sure the bowl/tank is secure, (no movement, wiggly etc.) Tighten a little more. Reattach the hose to the bottom. Now caulk around the base for a cleaner look, normally white, (match your floor color). Cool your done! Next, bottom under the tank. See Ya'