Fix a toilet that rocks
Three in ten homes we inspect have a loose toilet. It feels like a small thing, but every flush pushes a little water into the subfloor, and a $200 fix turns into a rotted floor if it goes on long enough.
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- Test it. Sit on the closed lid and shift your weight side to side. Any rock or wobble means the bolts are loose, the flange is broken, or the wax seal has failed.
- Pop the bolt caps and snug the nuts. Alternate sides, a quarter turn at a time. Stop when the toilet stops moving. Overtightening cracks the porcelain, which is a new toilet.
- Shim any remaining gap. Slide plastic shims under the base where it lifts, trim flush with a utility knife, and re-caulk the base leaving a small gap at the back so a future leak shows itself.
- Check for water at the base. Discoloration, soft flooring, or a smell means the wax seal already failed. Tightening alone won't fix that.
- If the seal failed: shut off, drain, lift. Close the supply valve, flush, sponge out the tank and bowl, undo the nuts, lift the toilet straight up and set it on cardboard. Scrape the old wax, inspect the flange.
- New seal, set it once. A new wax ring or a waxless seal goes on the flange. Lower the toilet straight down onto the bolts, press it down with your body weight, then snug the nuts. Don't lift and re-set; the wax only seals once.
When it's past the do-it-yourself line
A cracked or corroded flange, a floor that gives underfoot, or a toilet that leaks again after a new seal is plumber work, and possibly a subfloor repair. Rocking that comes back after tightening usually means the flange, not the bolts.
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