5 Signs Your Toilet Needs to be Replaced

Your toilet, the throne, ye ole crapper, the loo…it’s that one thing in your home you use thousands of time per year, but you often neglect! Toilets can be a sensitive subject, and most people have at least one story about a toilet experience gone array. To keep bad toilet memories a thing of the past, our plumbers have put together a guide on the top 5 things to consider when it comes to your toilets.

1. Frequent Clogs

Are you having to plunge your toilet frequently? If you find yourself plunging your toilet once per week or more, you are no stranger to the annoyance this causes. Older model, low-flush toilets often require more than one flush and are subject to frequent blockages. If you find this is happening to you, you may consider having your toilet replaced with a newer, more energy efficient model that will work much better for you and save you money (and save the headache) in the long run!

2. Too Many Repairs

Some toilet repairs are simple, routine maintenance tasks, like changing the flapper or fill valve, or replacing the toilet handle. If you find you are replacing parts more frequently, over time these costs can add up. There comes a point where you can put too much money into patching together an old toilet. If you are in this situation, you may consider replacing the entire toilet with a newer model, saving you more money in the long run.

3. Cracked Porcelain

Hairline cracks can develop in the toilet tank or bowl. These cracks can create a flood if they rupture. You should inspect your toilet tank and bowl for crack when you clean your toilet. If you notice cracks, you should replace your toilet. With cracks are left without attention, they can develop into a leak over time, causing water damage to your home.

4. High Water Bills

You can save a lot of money every year on water/septic bills by replacing your toilet. Older toilets use up to 5 gallons of water per flush! The newer low-flush models use under 2 gallons per flush. You can read more about the benefits of low-flush toilets here. With the rising costs of utilities, saving on household water usage makes sense. And as a bonus, you are helping the environment as well!

5. Badly Scratched or Stained

The porcelain on the surface of the toilet can become scratched, corroded and discoloured over time. Eventually, even with frequent cleaning, you will be unable to have a clean-looking toilet bowl. This can be an unsightly annoyance to you and your guests. If you find your toilet has become worn and corroded and is increasingly difficult to clean, it could be time to replace it.

If your toilets are giving you trouble, take special attention to decide whether to repair or replace them. Our plumbers will always offer repair options first if they are the most suitable and cost-effective. But some situations may call for replacement of your toilets. If you are experiencing any of the above concerns with your toilets, you should consider replacing them with newer, safer, and energy-efficient toilets. You can trust the expert plumbers at Always Plumbing & Heating to provide you with the most innovative and trustworthy brands of toilets, like Gerber, Toto, and Kohler, just to name a few. We can provide you with a broad selection of toilets of varying styles, colours, features, and functions. A crowd favourite is the contemporary-style toilets with a skirted base, making cleaning a breeze having no knobs, grooves, or bolts to have to clean around. If your toilets need to be replaced, give us a call…we’ll be right over!

Notes on Toilet Replacement

You groggily shamble into the bathroom, use the toilet and flush it. After washing your hands, you start ambling back to bed, but in the distance, you can hear it. “Wait, was that…” you think. The “drip…drip…drip” grows louder and heavier and more frequent. “Please, no,” you mumble under your breath. With a deep breath and a quick prayer, you check the tank. Of course, in the most inopportune time possible, the toilet tank has decided to spring a leak. First, the bad news: you’ve got to replace the toilet. Bummer. Now for the good news: The process to remove your toilet and install a new one isn’t as mind-numbing as it might seem; it’s pretty straightforward, actually.

Always Plumbing & Heating has a few notes to guide you through the process of replacing your toilet, but if you’d rather leave it up to the professionals, give us a call and let the best plumbers in Northern Alberta handle it from start to finish.

What Tools You’ll Need

  • An adjustable wrench
  • A screwdriver
  • Wax ring
  • Plumber’s putty
  • Soft, absorbent materials to support the removed toilet
  • Maybe: a closet flange (depending on if yours needs replacing)

Prep

  • You’ll need to take care of a few things before getting into the nitty-gritty of replacing the toilet. The water supply will need to be turned off, after which you’ll drain the excess water currently in the toilet. Make sure you’ve got a space ready to place the old toilet, which will have the not-so-pleasant remnants of sewer water underneath once you lift it off the ground – unnecessarily staining your floor is something we want to avoid!

Goodbye, bolts

  • Removing these little guys shouldn’t be an issue, but depending on how long your toilet has been around, the bolts securing it to the ground may have become welded to the nuts securing them in place. If that’s the case, you’re going to need to bring out the hacksaw and cut them off.

Removal of the toilet

  • Next is getting the toilet out of there. It’ll be easier to do so with the tank disconnected from the bowl, so get your wrench onto the water supply tube that links up with the fill valve and get the bolts undone there, then separate the tank. With just the bowl remaining, you should have an easier time lifting the toilet from the closet flange bolts underneath.

New flange?

  • The flange is what lies underneath and anchors your toilet to the ground. For the purposes here, let’s assume it doesn’t need replacing, and the current one is still functioning and devoid of leaks.

Placing the new toilet

  • Before you fit the new unit onto the flange for good, hold the bowl over the flange to make sure the bolts line up. If they do, place the bowl on the bolts and check to see if the toilet is level – if it’s not, you’ll need to even it out with shims. Once you double-check how everything fits, you can get the wax ring ready and adhere it to the horn of the toilet; the wax will need to be above room temperature so it can form, otherwise it’ll be disfigured and won’t seal correctly. Once the ring is set in place and squished down to form (which you can do by sitting on the toilet, facing backwards), you can finish it off with a caulk seal around the base to lock in everything with an extra layer of protection.

Re-connection

  • Now that the toilet is secure, you’ve got the all-clear to hook the bowl back up to the tank and re-attach the water supply.

Cash-saving Tip: Low-flush Toilets

And voila! You’re ready to put your brand-new toilet to use. Ideally, this one won’t decide to start leaking anytime soon and you’ll have a trusty unit to rely on for years to come. Of course, if you’d prefer to leave it up to the professionals, Northern Alberta’s experts at Always Plumbing & Heating can handle all of your toilet replacement needs. Call 780-489-8118 (Edmonton) or 587-601-1253 (Fort McMurray) to schedule an appointment today!

Should something unexpectedly happen to your toilet in the middle of the night, for instance, we offer around-the-clock service 365 days a year.

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