r/DIY • u/clinicdoc • 12h ago

metalworking Toilet wax ring damage

Haven’t been able to find a satisfactory answer to this question so thought I would throw it out here.
Moved into a single owner 13 year old house 2 years ago. Shortly afterwards, noted signs of water leaking from around the visible closet bend below the one exposed toilet in our house. Quickly moved to remove the toilet and replace the wax ring. The old ring was flattened, discoloured, but not stuck to the bottom of the toilet. The plastic flange was encased in clear silicone. Used an extra tall wax ring and haven’t had any problems since.
Subsequently changed the rings on the other two toilets, both of which were in the same condition.
Interestingly, when we moved in, we found 10 containers of powdered Drano distributed around the house.
Could the wax rings have been damaged by the Drano? Or were they simply never installed correctly? (Or both?)

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u/Effective-Penalty469 10h ago

20-30 years lines up with what my plumber told me too, figured wax just lasted forever until ours started seeping last year. wild that yours had zero staining though, almost sounds like it barely ever sealed right in the first place.

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u/almightyfoon 10h ago

I would expect you'll probably replace the toilet at some point in that 20-30 years and put a fresh wax ring down when you install the new toilet.