[beginner7]

Just bought this house a few months ago and my upstairs bathroom toilet smells terrible!!! I can flush it and it goes away for a bit but comes basically right back??? I have no plumbing experience and have no idea what it might be!! Also it feels like it is leaning forward!!! HELP its disgusting!!

 

[oh'mike]

You have a bad wax ring under that toilet----

The solution is to remove the toilet---clean up the floor --make sure the flange is in good shape--then reinstall the toilet with a proper wax ring and new bolts.

 

[beginner7]

You have a bad wax ring under that toilet----

The solution is to remove the toilet---clean up the floor --make sure the flange is in good shape--then reinstall the toilet with a proper wax ring and new bolts.

Will that fix the smell?? I can't imagine a wax ring being to expensive.

 

[joecaption]

Less then $5.00.
The toilet leaning foward might not be a good thing, often time when someone puts of doing the DIY 101 job of replacing the ring water will have rotted out the subflooring to the point it needs replacing.
Never know what your going to find when you remove a toilet, broken flange, no flange, rotted subflooring, rotted floor joist, rusted out cast iron pipes.

 

[jagans]

How old is the house?
How old is the toilet?

Tips:

Shut off the water, flush the toilet. shop vac (Take the filter out!) the remaining water in the tank. undo the supply nut. Old? 5/8" New? Channel Locks. It is much easier to first remove the tank from the base, than to remove the whole toilet as a unit IMO. (Ill get some grief on this one, but that's what I always do nowadays )You will then have to replace the tank to bowl gasket, and the bolts and washers, but it is worth it to me at 66 with a bad back. Your mileage may vary. If the heads on the tank bolts are messed up, you may want to forget this, but if the head is messed up, the bolts aren't long for this world IMO. You need a large Flat tip to hold the head, and a deep well socket extension and ratchet to get to the nuts underneath. I think they are 9/16" (14MM) Not sure.

It sounds like you are new to this. Hopefully you have some decent tools. Removing the hold down bolts can be a sticky wicket, depending on the type of flange you have. Yours might be broken if your toilet is rocking. If that's the case you will need to cut the bolts off below the nuts. Close Quarters Hack Saw (Tough) Sawsall with hack blade (Medium) Right angle grinder with thin reinforced metal cut off blade, Cake. (Wear Face Schield, leather gloves, and ear protection)

Take off the caps and get back to us with pictures.

 

[beginner7]

House was built in 1915 and I think the guy who owned it before short cut everything!! I have no clue about how old the toilet is!!

 

[jagans]

Pictures please, wide and close. Not too many short cutters in 1915. Dough Boys, You may be in for a good one. Probably a wiped joint on the closet bend.

:whistling2::whistling2::whistling2::whistling2::whistling2:

 

[SeniorSitizen]

With the toilet leaning my money is on a rotted floor or the flange too tall . I recommend getting a plumber to do this one and pay a little XTRA to watch so you can learn . Sewer gas in your house is nothing to take lightly .

 

[jagans]

Not sure what you know, or even if you have a second bathroom to use, but Fairview may be right, up to a point. If the floor is rotten, which it probably is, The toilet has to come off, the old floor has to be cut out where damaged up to the joists, nailers have to be added to the joists, and blocking to the floor, and the floor replaced with minimum 3/4 inch plywood. We are talking about carpentry work, and I would do what I could to make the job easier for the plumber. The toilet HAS to come off, so I would accomplish this task first. It sounds like you may have an old toilet that should be replaced, but we don't know that, as you have posted no pictures.

The only toilet I have used in the last several years is the Kohler Wellworth, and they have given me no trouble at all, but there are other good ones available.

Once you get that toilet off and stick a big rag in it, and we can see the floor, maybe we can help. We cant now.

If you are the squemish type, and well off, just call a plumber. Some people cant even stomach the sight of the old wax.

Changing my Kids Diapers never bothered me, the way I see it is S**T is just another part of life. Gross but true.

Just figured Id let you know what you are in for so you dont bite off more than you can chew :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[beginner7]

With the toilet leaning my money is on a rotted floor or the flange too tall . I recommend getting a plumber to do this one and pay a little XTRA to watch so you can learn . Sewer gas in your house is nothing to take lightly .

Well the guy I got it from was renting it out, so it wasn't a shortcut in the 1915' s but I will post pics to show what I mean.

 

[beginner7]

Not sure what you know, or even if you have a second bathroom to use, but Fairview may be right, up to a point. If the floor is rotten, which it probably is, The toilet has to come off, the old floor has to be cut out where damaged up to the joists, nailers have to be added to the joists, and blocking to the floor, and the floor replaced with minimum 3/4 inch plywood. We are talking about carpentry work, and I would do what I could to make the job easier for the plumber. The toilet HAS to come off, so I would accomplish this task first. It sounds like you may have an old toilet that should be replaced, but we don't know that, as you have posted no pictures.

The only toilet I have used in the last several years is the Kohler Wellworth, and they have given me no trouble at all, but there are other good ones available.

Once you get that toilet off and stick a big rag in it, and we can see the floor, maybe we can help. We cant now.

If you are the squemish type, and well off, just call a plumber. Some people cant even stomach the sight of the old wax.

Changing my Kids Diapers never bothered me, the way I see it is S**T is just another part of life. Gross but true.

Just figured Id let you know what you are in for so you dont bite off more than you can chew :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Yeah I'm very new to this stuff but want to learn. I'm not well off and I got kids and **** doesn't bother me!! I am going to replace the floors anyway but I do have a 2nd bathroom so I can do what I can with this one!! I will send pics soon!!

 

[oh'mike]

Changing a wax ring and even fixing a bad flange is not all that difficult --pull that stinker and tell us what you find---

 

[jagans]

Wheres the pictures? Still in the dark room? :whistling2::whistling2::whistling2::whistling2:

 

[joecaption]

Also if your flushing and and the waters coming back into the bowl then you have one of several things going on that will need to be addressed.
Lines plugged up, vents plugged up, septic tanks full if you have one,there's something wrong in the distrabution box, or the leach field has failed.

 

[beginner7]

I've just got so many projects going with this house. I've got the kitchen I'm painting and stripping down cabinets to stain I haven't had time to get up there and get it checked out!

 

[beginner7]

Everything flushes fine I mean it fills back up like a regular toilet with new water just the smell is horrible!!!

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Evidently you didn't take the last sentence in reply #9 very seriously since you are putting cabinet refinishing a priority . When your roof lands in the neighbor's yard from a gas explosion neither you, the fire department nor the insurance company will be concerned about the appearance of those cabinets . It doesn't happen often but the possibility is there .

 

[beginner7]

Evidently you didn't take the last sentence in reply #9 very seriously since you are putting cabinet refinishing a priority . When your roof lands in the neighbor's yard from a gas explosion neither you, the fire department nor the insurance company will be concerned about the appearance of those cabinets . It doesn't happen often but the possibility is there .

Sorry I must have missed that one #9 didn't realize all that. I'll call one and see what I can do.

 

[oh'mike]

I never heard of a house blowing up because of sewer gas----There are some things I just don't know.

However, fixing it promptly is a good plan---exploding or just leaking--the fix should cost very little and will not take long---going to the store for parts will take as long as the fix.

 

[jagans]

I have heard of outhouses exploding, but never a plumbing waste line, but given the right circumstances, anything can happen. You want to address the toilet first at any rate, as noxious gas in your home cant be good for you. I dont think its going to be a day at the beach to fix, but it might not be too hard either. We need pictures to make a call. The cabinets can wait.