Need help! Toilet, flange, and vinyl flooring, oh my!

[Ayer]

Hello, I have a question about the toilet setup, and another question about the flooring around it.
The toilet had leaked water around it, so we took up the toilet and scraped off the wax on the bottom.

First Question:
First problem: not level. When we took up, the toilet, we noticed there were five or six washers at the rear side, under the toilet, which we figured the previous installer had put down to help the toilet not to wiggle as maybe the concrete floor is not level.

Next problem: pipe opening smaller than standard. The new wax ring had a funnel, but we couldn't put it in, as the funnel portion was too big for the pipe opening. The pipe opening is about 2-3/8 inch diameter, while the bottom of the funnel has a 2-6/8 inch outside diameter.

We went ahead and got a plain wax ring, put the washers back under the toilet, and set the toilet back in place on top of the wax ring. We wiggled and jiggled it to set it in place, and kept tightening the bolts, as it kept having a small wiggle. Then we filled the toilet tank with water and flushed a few times to see if it would leak, sure enough, water came out the front side again. We took toilet back up and set it aside.

Is there such a thing as a wax toilet ring with a 2-1/2 inch funnel, to be used with a toilet flange that was either replaced or set on top of the old one, but it was fit inside the 3 inch pipe and has narrowed the pipe to about 2-1/2 inch pipe opening. Is this the right approach or is there a better way? Should we use actual plastic shims rather than the washers the plumbers had used? Is it normal for the PVC flange to be slightly giving when we push down on it?

Second Question - Flooring:
This same toilet that finally leaked this week, has had a slight orange-pink colored stains develop on the vinyl flooring around it for the past several years. Research shows it could be some sort of bacteria or mold caused staining due to moisture. In the last few days just before the leak, the seam between two pieces of the vinyl had developed a dark color that had not been there. There must have been water seepage from the toilet base over the last few years that recently got much worse. Is it possible for the moisture between the concrete and sheet vinyl to dry up on its own? How important is it and what would be the best way to dry or clean the floor area between a concrete and vinyl floor, before replacing the wax ring and the toilet?

Thanks so much for any help and suggestions!

 

[CT18]

I am not sure what that blue thing is coming up into the flange. As far as i know flanges are standard openings

 

[Twowaxhack]

Looks like a 3” pvc pipe with a 3x4 bushing blue glued onto the 3” then a 4” over the pipe flange installed.

 

[MicEd69]

The minimum size for a toilet connection is 3", so I am wondering what that blue "ring" is inside the closet flange. I can't tell from the picture if it is reducing the size of the pipe or not. So please confirm the ID of the pipe just below that blue "ring".

It sounds like you may have over compressed the wax ring when you "wiggled and jiggled" the toilet on an uneven floor to set the toilet. The wax rings with a plastic funnel are not always the best ones to use, nor are the "waxless" toilet gaskets. And you can get thick wax rings which you may need.

"Is it normal for the PVC flange to be slightly giving when we push down on it?"

No, it isn't. That closet flange appears only to be anchored by its connection to the pipe and the toilet mounting bolts that I assume are drilled into the concrete floor. It should have anchor screws in each of the holes. And regular closet bolts are installed in the slots that are 90 degrees off in your installation. That isn't a huge problem, just something that isn't normal.

Depending on finding out what that blue "ring" is, you may want to consider replacing the toilet flange with a repair flange.

 

[TomFOhio]

I wonder if that blue thing was part of an off brand wax ring? Maybe it just pulls out.

 

[Ayer]

Looks like a 3” pvc pipe with a 3x4 bushing blue glued onto the 3” then a 4” over the pipe flange installed.

That sounds like what it may be. What would be your recommendation of what to do next? What kind of wax ring would be best for this configuration? Do we need to have the flange and/or blue bushing replaced, or leave that as is?

 

[Twowaxhack]

Use one of these. Get it 75 degrees or room temp before you use it.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Fluidma...MImbLrm478ggMVaHJ_AB1XEAwuEAQYASABEgKZf_D_BwE

It should look similar to this before you set the toilet.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Once it’s set and tight, shim and caulk it good with some adhesive tub/tile caulk. Force the caulk into the joint the toilet makes with the floor with your finger.

Let it dry for 24 hrs.

 

[Ayer]

Hi all, still haven't worked out this problem. The white flange is just slightly above floor, and it gives in places when you press on it, maybe due to wax under it?. Therefore the toilet doesn't touch the floor. We bought a Danco HydroSeat Flange Repair kit, but even if that fixes the wobbliness of the old flange, it still doesn't fix the toilet not sitting on the floor. We're even thinking of making a half inch tall wood shim to go all around the base of the toilet to even it out with the flange. Would this work?

Any suggestions?

 

[MicEd69]

The white flange is just slightly above floor, and it gives in places when you press on it, maybe due to wax under it?. Therefore the toilet doesn't touch the floor.

It appears you are saying the flange being "slightly above the floor" is what is keeping the toilet from sitting on the floor. If that is the case, you need to lower the flange height or raised the floor. And yes, you can "shim" the toilet up to raise the floor. But using wood to encompass the entire toilet area is not a good idea IMO.

First, you need to take some good measurements so that you know exactly what you are dealing with. Measure the actual difference in height of the flange and the floor. Check to make sure that the floor doesn't slope away from the flange that would exaggerate the height of the flange compared to the floor. If it does, use a level and measure that height difference. Measure the distance between the toilet base and the cone of the toilet that meets with the wax ring. Once you have those dimensions, you can see where the interferences are.

If the toilet flange is too high, you could cut it off and install a new flange at the correct elevation. Not to be mean here, but that may take a skill set and/or tools that you don't possess.

But, if you do determine that the flange is indeed too high, and you don't want to (or can't) call a plumber, and you do want to tackle a fix, I would suggest that you use PVC sheet rather than wood for a "shim". Cut it to the shape of the base of the toilet and maybe 3/8" or 1/2" larger, depending on the thickness of PVC you need to use. Cut a hole maybe 3" larger in diameter than the cone of the toilet that meets with the wax ring, and from that hole, cut a 2" wide strip all the way to the back of the toilet. That will allow a path for any leak from the wax ring to exit out the back letting you know you have a problem. Caulk the PVC sheet to the toilet and the floor.

Not what I would do, but that should work if the flange is indeed holding the toilet off the floor.