Replace your toilet in 10 easy steps!

Probably, needless to say, it has been awhile since I started this post and I am just getting to publishing it. That being said, my daughter was having issues with the plumbing in her master bath and since my cancer diagnosis I have not been able to as much (in the past I would have just done this for her, it’s a mom thing). It was time she learned to “replace your toilet”.

Long story longer… the issue got to the point where the back up was almost over flowing the toilet bowel and started backing up in the shower. After several unsuccessful attempts to unplug the drain with various products you flush down the toilet or put down a drain, she called a plumber to have the main line snaked. It turned out that the main line to the street goes under a large oak tree and he found roots in the line.

Even after clearing the main line, the toilet was still having issues flushing. The plumber told her it would be an additional $265 to remove the toilet and check/snake it from the inside and reset the existing toilet. Wow, $265 and that didn’t even include a new toilet!! Being my daughter, she politely declined asking him if he was insane because that was more then the service call to clear the main line.

She decided to replace the toilet herself, with a little supervision from Mom. So we decided we would use this opportunity to show how easy it is to change out a toilet (she really didn’t need my help, she just needed… practice!)

How to replace your toilet.

It only takes 10 steps to replace your toilet, not counting gathering the tools and supplies. It took my daughter, who is a novice at this, about 90 minutes. Not bad for a girl!

Tools and supplies: Adjustable crescent wrench or proper size open end wrenchs, channel lock pliers, large flat blade screw driver, putty knife, small bullet style level, small cup, medium size container and/or towels to catch drips, paper towels, New toilet, wax ring, water line, caulk and caulk gun.

STEP 1- Shut off the water to the toilet.

Shut off the water and flush the toilet to empty the tank. Not all of the water will empty out because there is a lip around the discharge hole where the tank meets the base. You can use the small cup to remove some of this water.

replace your toilet disconnect water line

Water line removed, drip container in place.

STEP 2- Next remove the water line.

Before disconnecting the water line, remove as much of the water remaining in the tank as possible(see above). Make sure you have towels and/or a container to catch the extra water from the tank and the water line. You will use the open end wrench or the crescent wrench to remove the water line at the shut off and the channel lock pliers to remove the line at the bottom of the tank. In some cases this line can be reused, but I recommend replacing it with a flexible steel braided line.

STEP 3- Remove the tank.

Looking inside the tank you will see two (sometimes three) large bolts that thread through the tank and base.

replace your toilet, remove the tank

Using the crescent wrench or the open end wrench, hold the nut under the base and using the flat blade screw driver, unscrew the bolt from the nut. Do this for each of the bolts. Next carefully lift off the tank and set it aside. Now would be a good time to paint the wall behind the tank. First, it never gets painted and second the new tank may be a different size than the old one. This was also the point where she decided her hair was in the way and needed to be tied back… girls, go figure!

STEP 4- Remove the base.

To remove the base you will need to unscrew the wing nuts or acorn nuts that hold the base down. You will find one on each side of the base, typically under a mushroom cap. As you can see in the photos we found the source of the problem with the toilet not flushing properly…

replace your toilet, renove the base

The only thing we could figure was the schefflera trees that the previous owner planted along the foundation had sent roots under the slab. It seemed a little far for the roots to grow but they are tenacious trees. We found a crack in the mounting flange that allowed the roots to grow up inside the trap of the toilet. Yup, pretty gross! and that was just what was in the drain line, we couldn’t remove what was up inside the toilet trap.

At this point you may want to stuff a rag in the drain to limit the sewer gas that will be emitted and to prevent any debris from going down the drain pipe (not that the minor debris is a concern considering the shit that goes down the drain, literally). Using the putty knife and paper towels, remove as much of the old wax ring as possible. I leave a bit to hold the mounting bolts up while installing the new base.

STEP 5- Prep the new toilet.

Most new toilets come with illustrated instructions so if this is the first time you have changed out a toilet. It would be helpful to review these instructions before proceeding.

Un-box the new toilet and install the wax ring. The ring is typically made of modified bees wax. It’s purpose is to seal the toilet base to the flange so nothing leaks out under the base. Some are just a wax ring and some come with an extra light weight plastic flange attached. Either one will work, but since I am a belt and suspenders type of person, if I have to buy it separately, I pick the one with the extra flange.

STEP 6 Set the new base.

Position the two bolts in the flange so that they are centered on each side.

Carefully line up the holes in the base with the bolts in the flange (the tricky part and can be frustrating, be patient). Once you are confident that everything is in position, press down firmly on the base until it contacts the floor. For my daughter, the easiest way to do this was to sit on the base and gently rock it. Oh and she asked me to crop the photo so I didn’t show off her plumbers crack 🙂

STEP 7 Set the new tank.

Yup, lost the photo for this one… Install the large rubber tank to bowl washer and each of the rubber bolt washers. You will then slide the bolts through the holes in the base. Remember I said that some toilets have three bolts, in the photos the old toilet had two and the new one has three. Three bolts seem to make leveling the tank a bit easier. Put the nuts on the bolts and hand tighten them.

Place the level along the edge of the tank and again across the tank from front to back making sure the tank is level as you go. To adjust the levelness on the tank just tighten or loosen the bolts that seem to be drawing it out of level. Using the adjustable wrench and screw driver to snug the nuts up.

Once you have the tank in place, make sure it is square to the wall (there is even spacing along the back of the tank to the wall). If you need to square it up, just wiggle the toilet a bit. Once square, secure the base to the mounting flange by installing the nuts on the bolts.

NOTE: You want to be careful when tightening the nuts and bolts. If you tighten them to much you will inevitably crack the porcelain. This goes for tightening the base to the flange as well.

STEP 8 Re-connect the water line and turn on the water.

As the tank fills watch for any leaks in the water line connections and the connection between the tank and base. If any leaks are observed, gently tighten any connections as need until the leaks stop remembering to keep the tank level.

STEP 9 Adjust the fill level as needed.

To adjust the fill level, there is a plastic screw on the side of the fill valve. Adjust this screw to raise or lower the shut off float. Next determine the length of chain that you need and attach the chain to the flush handle. If there is extra chain, cut it off so it does not interfere with the flapper.