Complete Toilet Replacement. First remove the wax ring, begin by putting on latex gloves and placing a trash bag and some paper towels within reach of the working area. Take your plastic scraper and begin to scrape off the wax from the sewer line, placing the wax into the trash bag. Once most of the wax has been removed, slide the scraper under the rubber lip of the wax ring and pry it up; discarding it into the trash bag.
Next, slide out and remove the bolts from the sewer flange and place them in the trash bag. Lastly wipe up any remaining wax with the scraper and paper towels and place them in the trash bag. The sewer line should be relatively clean of any wax or debris. If there should be any lengthy amount of time between the removal of the original toilet and the installation of the new toilet, plug the sewer line with a plastic bag to reduce the amount of sewer gases escaping into the house. Make sure to remove the plastic bag and discard it before installing the new toilet.
Now that the toilet has been removed and the wax ring has been cleaned of the sewer flange, inspect the flange and sub flooring for any noticeable damage. The flange should be free of any rust or any visible corrosion. The flange should be mounted securely to the wooden sub flooring.
Toilet repair is needed before installing the new toilet, the wooden sub flooring should be free of dry rot, mold or other moisture related conditions. If the sub flooring is wet, allow it to dry out fully before installing the new toilet. If the sub flooring is damaged or will no longer perform properly then it will need to be replaced before the new toilet is installed.
If the toilet was installed over a cement slab, the slab and toilet flange should be inspected before the new toilet is installed. The toilet flange should be without rust or any other visible corrosion. The flange should be securely fixed to the cement slab. If the flange is damaged it should be repaired before installing the new toilet.
If the toilet is being installed over carpet, the carpet needs to be cut back to the base of the toilet. Carpet is the only flooring that is installed to the base of the toilet, while tile and vinyl flooring are installed to the sewer line. To cut the carpet back, place the new toilet in place directly over the toilet flange. With the utility knife, cut around the base of the toilet through the carpet and padding, next set the toilet out of the way and discard the old carpet and padding. Clean the area of any carpet fibers or fragments.
Now set the new toilet back into position insuring the carpet was cut correctly. To install a new wax ring, first remove the soft wax ring from its tray by grabbing the center plastic hole and carefully pulling off the plastic tray. Next place the plastic ring on the toilet flange with the narrow end of the plastic lip inserted into the flange. Center and adjust the ring as needed. Now slide the holding washers down the mounting bolts and place the new bolts onto the guides of the toilet flange and set them into position. They should be perpendicular of the position of the toilet. Once the sewer line, flange, wax ring and mounting bolts are all in place then the area is ready for the toilet.
