A Rocking Toilet Could Be a Sign of a Much More Serious Problem.
Sitting in a rocking chair is relaxing and soothing, but sitting on a rocking toilet has the opposite effect. It turns out that contact with the toilet seat and the simultaneous sensation of all the porcelain fixtures beneath you shifting is not only alarming, but could also be a sign of a much more serious plumbing problem.
While there are some DIY fixes for a wobbling toilet, establishing a strong connection between the base of the toilet and the floor without examining what’s causing it to wobble in the first place can end up masking other, more serious problems. Lifehacker enlisted the help of three plumbers and a general contractor to tell us about some of the most common causes of a wobbling or wobbling toilet, possible DIY repairs, and why it’s important to fix the problem right away.
Why is my toilet wobbly?
“A good connection between the base of the toilet and the sewer line it feeds to has three key parts,” says Roy Barnes, a plumber for about 30 years and co-owner of Service Force Plumbing in Rockville, Maryland. They are:
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Flange : The wide ring at the top of the sewer line where it meets the floor. It has holes for bolts and also helps create an effective seal. “These flanges can deteriorate with age and should be inspected if problems occur,” Barnes tells Lifehacker.
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Wax Ring : Creates an actual airtight and watertight seal between the porcelain toilet and the PVC or metal drain. The bolts in the base of the toilet not only hold the toilet in place, but also hold the wax ring firmly in place, making it airtight and watertight.
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Toilet base : Must be durable, without microcracks and age-related wear.
If one or more of these parts are damaged, it can cause the toilet to wobble. Specifically, Josh Rudin, general contractor and owner ofASAP Restoration , a water, fire and mold restoration company in Phoenix, says some of the most common reasons why a toilet wobbles include:
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Loose toilet bolts
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Damaged wax rings
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Uneven floor
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Uneven or damaged subfloor
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Loose flange fitting
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Incorrect positioning
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Toilet base cracked
While any of these problems can cause your toilet to become unstable, the more important question is what exactly caused the bolts to loosen or the wax ring to become damaged?
According to Barnes, one of the most common causes of these problems is a botched bathroom renovation that includes installing new flooring. “It’s very important that the drain pipe flange is level with the floor, but too many flooring contractors don’t know this,” he explains. “They install new flooring at the wrong height for the existing flange, and then when the toilet is reinstalled, the wax ring doesn’t make the correct seal.”
Homeowners often don’t notice the problem until their toilet begins to wobble, months or years after a renovation, Barnes says. It’s only when they hire a plumber to deal with the loose toilet that the homeowner learns that the seal has been leaking all along and has caused significant damage to the subfloor.
How to understand why the toilet is wobbly
Whether you’re going to try to fix a swinging toilet yourself or hire a plumber, it can be helpful to look for and write down certain signs that may help explain what’s causing the fixture to wobble.
Cody Wilson, a plumber, plumbing instructor and director of NTC’s Las Vegas campus, suggests starting by inspecting the bathroom to see if you can visually identify the problem. “A lot of these things can be determined just by looking at the toilet, and many of these [problems] will occur at the same time, depending on the underlying problem,” he tells Lifehacker. “Has there been a leak? Are there any signs of damage on the floor? Are the nuts and bolts loose to the touch?
A leaking toilet likely means you have a variety of problems, says Wilson, adding that “the best thing to do is remove the toilet and determine the extent of the damage.”
Look for signs of damage on the floor. According to Wilson, there are two common causes of warped, uneven, popping or cracking tiles: water damage and settling or aging of the home. Again, if you notice this type of damage on the floor, he recommends removing the toilet and determining the cause.
If you notice that the bolts connecting the toilet base to the floor are loose, don’t think that you just need to tighten them and everything will be secure. Instead, immediately double-check for water damage, Wilson advises.
Barnes agrees, noting that while it is possible that tightening the bolts will solve the wobble problem, you should never make that assumption. “First, if the toilet had been rocking for a while, the simple repetitive motion could cause the wax seal to fail and allow water to leak out of sight,” he explains. “Not only is this potential damage serious in itself, but if simply tightening bolts makes everything feel solid, it could be hiding water that continues to seep in and damage the subfloor and joists.”
In addition to looking for potential signs and causes of toilet problems, Rudin suggests keeping an eye on your nose. “A broken seal can also cause unpleasant odors to come out of the sewer system, and rocking the base unit can cause them to appear,” he says.
Why You Should Never Ignore a Rocking Toilet
Experts say there’s a good chance that a loose toilet is a symptom of much more serious and more costly problems.
In the short term, an unstable toilet can lead to leaks around the base, potentially leading to water damage to the floor and subfloor, says Matt Koontz, president of Mr. Rooter Plumbing , a subsidiary of Neighborly, a franchised service company. . It can also make toileting uncomfortable, stressful and potentially unsafe for family members and their guests.
“In the long term, constant rocking can compromise the O-ring and the toilet’s connection to the floor, increasing the risk of more severe water damage,” Kunz tells Lifehacker. “A quick solution to the problem ensures a stable and safe toilet, preventing potential structural damage and maintaining proper functionality of the bathroom.”
“Also, if there is any water damage, that can also lead to mold growth,” Wilson says.
Finally, as Rudin notes, the longer a water leak and damage problem persists, the worse and more expensive it will become—both in terms of the repair itself and the negative impact the damage will have on the value of your property. .
How to Fix a Wobbly Toilet
Technically, there are DIY methods for stabilizing a toilet, but as experts have already explained, they only stop the wobble and don’t solve any of the potential underlying problems. “For a DIYer who repairs a toilet base himself, there are no easy solutions,” Rudin says. “Most toilet jobs are done by two people simply because the toilet can weigh 100 pounds or more, depending on the model.”
However, if you’re 100 percent sure you’ve found the cause of the problem and there’s no sign of water damage, Wilson says you can stop the toilet from rocking in one of two ways. The first is to tighten any loose bolts on the toilet base, making sure they are all straight and not over-tightening them, as Wilson says this can cause the porcelain to crack. If you see the floor has settled over time but there is no water damage, Wilson suggests a second method: install shims on the underside of the toilet and tighten the bolts.
Before you take any of these steps, Barnes says you first need to make sure the flange and wax ring are in good shape and doing their job of preventing leakage. But even if this is the case, when you try to stabilize the toilet yourself, you always run the risk of ignoring and then hiding a more serious problem. “Keep in mind that the connection between the flange, wax ring and toilet works very well if installed correctly,” he explains. “So, if you need to install a toilet to stabilize it, more than likely it was not installed correctly or some part of the installation has failed.”
When to call a plumber
Fixing a swinging toilet is not as simple or straightforward as it seems. Considering all the potential complications, in most cases it is probably worth paying a plumber to come and inspect it rather than spending money on costly repairs for undetected problems down the road. Or as Barnes puts it, “Installing a flange at the correct height and a wax ring that is the right size for the job is much less expensive than ripping out and replacing the subfloor, flooring, and even worst case scenario, several years later.” road when much more damage was done.”
There’s also the possibility that you’ll unintentionally cause additional damage by trying to fix a wobbly toilet yourself, making it more costly for the plumber to fix the entire project. “The long-term damage could end up being thousands of dollars,” Rudin says.