My bathroom floor turned into a water park because I didn't check the toilet seal

I was putting in a new toilet in my house near Wolflin last month and thought I could skip the wax ring check. Big mistake. I turned the water back on, flushed, and watched a steady stream pour onto the subfloor. I had to shut everything off, pull the toilet again, and found the old ring was totally smashed. After three tries with a new reinforced ring, it finally sealed. Anyone else in Amarillo have a plumbing fail that made a bigger mess than you started with?

4 comments

4 Comments

jordancarr2mo ago

Three tries to get a wax ring to seal sounds like a real fight. Is a wet subfloor from a toilet leak actually that big of a deal if you catch it right away? I mean, it's just water and it's in the bathroom, how much damage can it really do in a few minutes?

gavin2281mo ago

just water and it's in the bathroom" - man, I hear that all the time, but I've seen a slow drip ruin a whole floor way worse than one good spill. In my experience, if you catch a toilet leak within an hour and hit it with a shop vac and a fan, you're usually fine, especially if it's on a concrete slab or a vinyl sheet floor that doesn't soak anything up. Yeah, particle board will swell fast, but most newer subfloor is OSB or plywood, and a quick soak won't turn it to mush if you dry it right. Your mileage may vary, but I've had a wax ring fail twice in a row, cleaned up the puddle fast, and the subfloor was still solid years later. A lot of people on here act like a few drops of water are a death sentence, but a properly built bathroom can handle a little moisture without needing a full rip-out.

the_hayden2mo agoMost Upvoted

@jordancarr, you ever seen what water does to wood over time, even a little bit?

davidkim2mo ago

@jordancarr, a few minutes of water can ruin a subfloor for good, it's not just a bathroom puddle.