As many of you know, my husband is an insurance adjuster. He works with homeowners who are filing claims on their homes. With his training and experience, he has learned many home maintenance tips that many people are unaware of. At least I find this very true for me and I consider myself rather savvy!
I am starting a small series where I am going to share some of the things he has seen that we can avoid. By preforming simple tasks and making wise purchasing choices, I can worry a little less. It is also a nice thought that the things in my home will take a little longer to break down.
First we are going to talk about toilets! Here is a question to consider. When is the last time your wax ring was changed? Tough question that many of us don't know. For me, with living in this house for 7 months, I have to think that the previous owners never changed it. Therefore it is probably original to the house or about 8 years old. This can cause a problem!
Why should they be changed? Each time you flush or sit on the toilet it wears away at the wax ring. This ring is what keeps the sewage where it should be. So if it wears away and you don't change it you will have leakage between the tile/linoleum and the sub floor. Can will all say gross! That is fecal matter leaking into your bathroom. This can cause a horrid smell, mold and rot.
A very simple and inexpensive solution is to change out your toilet wax rings. A few things to consider:
1-- Change them out frequently! Depending on usage, change every 2 to 5 years. A good rule of thumb is go off of the guarantee on the box. If it has a 5 year guarantee change it out every 2.5 years. A ten year guarantee change it every 5.
2-- Spend the few extra dollars and get the metal reinforced kind. Worth it!
Also, it is wise to change out the plastic water supply lines with the metal meshy ones. They hold up so much better! Plastic tends to wear out quicker which can cause leaks and damage.
To help make this easier, here is video. It is on how to change your old toilet for a new one. Everything applies except use your same toilet. (Unless you want a new one!)
3 Classy Comments:
We have to change our wax seal frequently because my kids keep flushing things down the toilet and my hubby has to pull the toilet up to get the toothbrush, razor, TP holder, etc., out of the toilet. Really fun!
I look forward to this series! I think I will also be replacing a few wax rings as well!
It never occurred to me to have the hubby change those out. We remodeled our downstairs bathroom when I noticed the... shall we say...ring around the outside of the toilet. As any woman can imagine the fit that was thrown about the unsanitary grossness of a leaky toilet. BINGO- got a brand spanken new bathroom fairly inexpensively as far as bathroom remodels go. (need to add that we did have some tile separation around the tub that was concerning because we couldn't tell if water was leaking between the tub/wall) I will keep the changing the ring advice to myself and see if the fit throwing will work to get a brand spankin new master bath. :D I will share this with every other person besides my husband though ;) P.S Rebecca there are these clip like things that can go around the lid of your toilet to keep the kiddos from having fun with toilet. Last I saw they were with all the child proofing what-nots.
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