New Toilet Install- Preparation, continued
In the last article, I described our kid's bathroom toilet situation and the desire to replace it. We started with cutting off the part of the bathroom counter that was hanging over the toilet. With that part removed, we were then able to proceed with the removal of the old toilet.
The first thing that occurred to us is that no one has looked inside this thing in23 years. To my surprise, it wasn't in that bad of shape. Yes, it was old, yes, it was dirty, but it was functional and not horrible.
Removing a toilet is a pretty simple job. The first step, of course, is to turn off the water. As long as the water source is shut off, you only have to deal with the water in the tank and bowl. After flushing a few times, you'll be left with water in the tank. There's simply no good way to get rid of all of it without soaking it up with rags and towels. Yes, it's dirty, but you just have to deal with it.
For the bowl, a rag stuffed down the toilet will soak up the water. You'll have to ring it out and repeat a number of times, but in the end, you'll end up with a dry tank and bowl. Simply undo the bolts holding it down and haul it away. Separating tank and bowl is an optional step that may make removal easier. When finished, you'll be left with the wax seal around a hole in the floor.
The rag in this picture is stopping up the hole during a break for lunch. This is important because you are basically looking at your sewer line. You don't want those gasses in the house, trust me. So, plug the hole and then you can leave the project for errands, lunch, etc., without fear of hurting something. As long as the water is off, there's nothing to be afraid of at this point.
When you are ready to continue, you have to remove the wax seal and clean up. You can use a putty knife to remove the seal, but be careful of the flange over the hole. It's likely to be as old as your house and you don't want to break it. The replacement of a toilet flange is frustrating, annoying, and will involve colorful language, trust me.
Once the wax is gone, you can clean around the toilet area. It's a good idea to complete any flooring fixes at this time. One suggestion is to check and re-caulk the seal at the bottom of the tub where it meets the floor and also to run a bead along the baseboard behind where the toilet will sit.
Another idea is to replace the supply line with a new, steel mesh supply. It's a bit of insurance knowing the nice new toilet is connected to a new line with new seals and fittings. At this point, we are cleaned up and ready for the new toilet to be installed. We'll show you how we tackled that in the next article.
