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About a year ago I noticed the vinyl flooring along side and behind a toilet (year old home) was stained and the stain could not be removed. I had the flooring patched (great looking job) and a new toilet (I wanted a different toilet so my choice) installed. I just noticed a similar stain. The house is on a slab so under the vinyl flooring is concrete.
About a year ago I noticed the vinyl flooring along side and behind a toilet (year old home) was stained and the stain could not be removed. I had the flooring patched (great looking job) and a new toilet (I wanted a different toilet so my choice) installed. I just noticed a similar stain. The house is on a slab so under the vinyl flooring is concrete.
Any ideas/suggestions?
There is a thick wax gasket between the pipe and the toilet assembly. When a plumber initially installs a toilet, he will first put one of those gaskets onto the pipe stub, then seat the toilet onto the pipe & gasket. He may even sit on the toilet and wiggle around a bit to ensure that the wax gasket gets squooshed down and forms a good seal. That said, those wax seals will degrade over time and do sometimes have to be replaced. If you see evidence of leakage from around the base of the toilet, then my first guess would be that the wax seal either wasn't installed properly or has failed prematurely.
Fortunately, a wax seal is easy to replace and can be had for <$10 at any home improvement store. If you choose not to do it yourself, a competent plumber should be able to do the job in a half hour, easy.
Either the wax ring is leaking, or moisture could be coming up from below if the vapor barrier was not sealed at the waste line. I would only worry about the latter if it continued after replacing the wax ring, or just putting on a 2nd ring.
MrWillys beat me to it, but some times, one wax seal is not thick enough. They make a thinner seal without the rubber to add to the first seal. It would be a cheap solution and is very easy to do. Or for that matter they do make a double thickness seal too. It's worth a try.
MrWillys beat me to it, but some times, one wax seal is not thick enough. They make a thinner seal without the rubber to add to the first seal. It would be a cheap solution and is very easy to do. Or for that matter they do make a double thickness seal too. It's worth a try.
Good advice; I had forgotten that one seal is not always enough. Thanks!
Stain?
Could you be more specific? Because when I hear stain and toilet in the same sentence I can only assume its a pee stain- or worse.
The next GUESS would be cleaning products, minerals, rust, mildew, mold, etc.
Thanks for the reply
The vinyl flooring is getting discolored (blackened) due to water seeping up through it from the leak. This is identical to what happened a year ago which was about a year after the house being built new.
Part of me says well simply another leak and redo all over as I had done before. Remove toilet. Cut in new vinyl piece. Replace toilet with new wax ring.
What has me wondering is if the toilet is not leaking but the discoloration is leeching up from the slab as a result of the original leak. The vinyl is glued to the concrete slab. Also the stain is spreading out from one edge of the toilet. Not happening elsewhere, so not an overall issue.
I am willing to have it done all over again, but I want to be sure it does not happen again a year from now. Like maybe the slab has to be cleaned, disinfected, sealed, etc.
Your thoughts.
To others. I know all about wax rings (even using two as a double) and toilet replacement. I have done it before but I did have a plumber install this new toilet. Actually had two replaced at the same time. The other is fine.
This would mean that you demo, and wait. If slab stays moist it is there, otherwise a single wax ring was insufficient. If at the slab the builder should have some obligation if this is a new home, and you've repaired it once already.
You can wax ring a toilet to death! But, IF there's still signs of a leak- I'd look else where. LIke the flange- those things get cracked relatively easy; bolts too tight, uneven floor. However, it's usually cracking outward, not towards the wasteline- then again who knows without a good inspection.
Other than that, maybe just condensation.
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