The Wax Ring
Great moments in building history: A leaky toilet can be a funny thing
When we bought and remodeled our old farmhouse 15 years ago, we added a new second-floor bath directly above the first-floor bath. Recently, the ceiling above the first-floor toilet started to show signs of staining from what looked to be water damage, and I speculated there was a leak from the second-floor toilet or tub. This proved to be correct, but not in the way I expected.
The stain was small at first and didn’t change much for a week after I first noticed it, but it didn’t go away, either. This small sign led me to guess it was a slow or occasional leak.
The first thing I checked was the wall connection to the toilet. Gaskets in the hose connection can deteriorate from minerals in water, but the connection appeared to be dry and tight. The second thing I checked was the tank fitting, thinking that the same potential for gasket deterioration could compromise this connection. Again, no sign of a leak. There has never been a problem with the tank sweating, so this issue was easily eliminated as a source. Also, the tank was not cracked.
Next, I grilled the kids about their bathing habits, remembering my father storming into the bathroom when I was a child because my bathtub games often led to water dripping into the kitchen below as he and my mother did the dishes. I was given adamant assurances that there were no mock tidal waves being staged and that the curtain was tightly tucked to the wall at both ends when showering.
Having done what I could through visual checks on the second floor and acknowledging that I would have to repair the damaged drywall anyway, I decided to open the first-floor ceiling and see if I could pinpoint where the leak was coming from. As I stood on the ladder, the drywall crumbled under my knife, indicating that there was more moisture than the small stain revealed. As the drywall fell away, dripping batt insulation fell on my head, heavy with the water saturating it. Once this was cleared away, it was obvious that the framing was pretty well soaked and that the source of the problem was the toilet directly above the stain on the ceiling. Having no other options, I pulled the toilet off its mounting and was amazed to see what appeared: The wax ring had melted away at the front of the drain pipe. The seal had been compromised, and the wax had recongealed on the floor around the drain. Then it became obvious where the leaking water was coming from, and it was not a pretty thought. I had set this toilet myself, so I knew that the wax ring was good when it went in. The cause of the melted ring became the mystery.
As I sat there looking around the room, I spotted the answer. In spite of our generally mild climate, we had some years back set a small ceramic heater in one corner of the bathroom to take the chill off the room during baths. My daughters had become accustomed to taking their clothes to the bathroom to dress, turning on the heater, sitting on the toilet lid, and pulling the heater close to themselves with it aimed directly at their feet. As the heater warmed their feet, it also was warming the ceramic mass of the toilet, and this in turn was melting the wax ring.
Once I realized what was going on, I established some new heater rules. Then I proceeded to reset the toilet and repair the drywall downstairs, feeling that my efforts were worthwhile because I had found the source and would not be revisiting the problem.
Drawing by: Jackie Rogers
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