The thick wax ring is on the toilet base, sealing the area between the drains and sewer gasses. It prevents the sewer gasses and contaminated water from coming on the floor and makes them sanitary.
Toilet wax ring leak symptoms include wobbly toilets, spongy and wet floors, low water levels in bowls, displaced water tanks, mold growth, stinky odors, and damaged subfloors.
The sealing gasket is a soft but durable material that lasts years with your fixtures. It is necessary to replace them when you are changing the toilets. Avoid installing the new fixture on the old seals because it can increase the risk of leakages.
Wobbly toilets
Toilet wax rings are responsible for properly fitting the toilet bowl. In addition, it allows their correct attachment to the floor and the closet flanges.
Sometimes the seals can get damaged because of loose mounted screws, plunger devices, and their incorrect installation. In addition, it can cause the wobbly movement of the fixtures, and you cannot sit on them.
The damaged seals on the lower side cannot hold the bowl properly. Therefore, you should not use the wobbly toilet because it strains the floor and damages them.
Moreover, it can produce cracks in the porcelain material of these items. It can also increase the risk of fall accidents, making people uncomfortable using them.
It does not provide stability to the base, and these do not remain intact. You can also see the leaning of these fixtures on the side of the damaged seal because of poor support.
The poor stability can also affect the other toilet components, including the tank. For example, the water tanks cannot sit properly on the bowl because of poor stability.
The connection between the bowl and the tanks also gets disturbed, and you can see water dripping due to the toilet wax ring leak. Moreover, the tanks lean towards one side and can fall on the floor.
Avoid using them when you feel wobbly movement because these can also come apart and increase the risk of falling on the floor and injury.
It becomes unsafe for heavy-weight people because of their poor support and stability.
Wet floors
You can identify leaks in the toilet wax rings from the spongy and flooded floors in the surrounding areas. These parts contain the airtight seal between the toilet base and flange so water cannot escape from them and moves directly to the sewer pipes.
The damaged seals cause water leakage on the floor and make them bad. You can see stains on the floors because of contaminated water.
Moreover, these can damage the floors if made of wood and other non-waterproof material. Sometimes the floors in the toilet surroundings become wet because of showers and during the cleaning procedure.
You can detect the leakage by clearing the water from the bathroom floors and inspecting them again after a few hours. The fixture has a problem if water comes again on the floor after cleaning.
The issue is not in their fixing if the floors remain dry when you clean them with mopes. The situation becomes worse when you flush the toilets after using them.
The water pressure increases during flushing and come on the floor. The puddling water around the base causes deterioration and rotting of floors.
It can also damage the grouting material and penetrates the subfloors. Moreover, these can easily move into subfloors if the grouting material is cracked or broken.
Low water level in toilet bowl
The water is present on the lower side of the bowl to keep the sewer gasses down. Many people complain about their decreased water levels and increased smells in their bathrooms.
The levels in the bowl decreases because of the damaged toilet wax ring. These cannot create proper seals, and it comes on the floors.
The levels in the bowl also decrease because of cracks in the porcelain material. Therefore, checking the porcelain material before replacing the seals and detaching the toilet base is necessary.
The sudden level decrease represents the leaky toilet wax rings because water moves quickly from there because of poor sealing. The cracks-based leakages are slow, and it takes a whole night to lower the levels in a bowl.
In addition, the contaminated water also leaves stains in the affected area when you dry the water with ceiling fans and mopping.
Molds growth
You can confirm the leaky toilet wax rings from the mold growth in the surrounding areas. Mold loves damp and cool places for their survival and reaches there quickly.
You can see the greenish stains on the floor, representing the mold colonies. In addition, it can also make your floor slippery and spongy.
You can feel the area slippery because of fungus growth in the affected area. However, mold also comes there because of contaminated water.
They can eat solid waste and survive in damp places. You can also feel fish water and a musty smell from the surroundings.
Adding a new ring and stopping water leakage is necessary because mold can ruin wooden floors. These are also harmful to humans and lead to severe allergic reactions.
It can also create a mess in the surrounding, making the floor dirty and unappealing.
Stinky odors
Many people complain about the stinky odors from their bathroom because of standing water in the toilet base surroundings.
The bad odors represent the cracked or damaged ring which causes sewer gas smells in the interior and make it unpleasant. The smell also comes from the leakage of contaminated water mixed with solid wastes.
The sewer gases escape outside the empty spaces and disturb the internal environment. These gasses are also harmful because of their flammability.
In addition, you can feel the rotten eggs smell because of the hydrogen sulfide in sewer gasses.
These are harmful to people and are toxic, and cause suffocation. In addition, these also contain bacteria, and you can ingest them while breathing in an unclean environment.
These can make you ill when you inhale the bacteria through your nostrils with these odors. Call the plumber and avoid turning on any flammable fixture in the bathroom because it can cause an explosion.
Damaged subfloor
Sometimes the toilet base and flange area are sealed with caulking material to prevent water leakage on the floors. When the toilet wax ring is damaged, you cannot see any water around these fixtures because it seeps inside the floors.
It penetrates the subfloors and causes their rotting if these are made of wooden and other non-water-resistant materials. You can also see moisture patches and rings on the bathroom ceilings because of water penetration into the subfloors.
The paint from the ceilings and walls starts to come off because of the moisture entry. In addition, black molds also grow on the ceiling and surrounding walls because of the dark and damp environment.
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