As a rule of thumb, try a turn or two a side until you feel resistance, them try to wiggle the toilet bowl slightly. If there is no significant movement, you are probably tight enough. This tightening operation is a "feel" thing you get from experience, so be conservative and use your best judgement.
Tightening the bolts too much can crack the brittle porcelain of the toilet, for which there is no repair. Check the flange bolt at each side of the toilet, using a pair of pliers or a small wrench.
How Tight Should the Toilet Tank Be? Porcelain toilets are pretty brittle. So, ensure you should tighten toilet tank bolts very carefully. The best way to ensure you're tightening the tank bolt nuts is to hand-tighten them, then make a quarter-inch turn on each nut using a wrench.
Using plastic shims (which can be found at most hardware stores), slide a shim into the gap between the toilet and the floor and adjust until the toilet no longer wobbles (again being careful not to overtighten). Next, trim the shims with a sharp utility knife to get rid of the extra sections of plastic.
Your toilet should be fixed to the floor using several bolts. Carefully unscrew the nuts and washers to help free the toilet. Your toilet may also have silicone around the base to make it more secure.
Caulk keeps the toilet secure
Think again! Caulk keeps your toilet secure the floor, and avoids any chance of injury or toilet malfunctioning. It's actually required by the International Plumbing Code to caulk a toilet to the floor, and now knowing the reasoning behind it, why would you not want to?
Plumbing codes require caulking a toilet to the floor.
This is arguably the single most important reason. In most parts of the United States, it is a requirement of building code to caulk around toilet bases.
The toilet flange, also known as a closet flange, is the part of the toilet that secures the unit to the floor and connects to the drain pipe. Usually made of PVC, rubber or metal, this piece is circular in shape and usually secured in place with a few bolts.
Over time, the flapper can wear out or become out of position, so it no longer forms a tight seal. When this happens, water can slowly leak from the tank into the bowl, so when you go to flush, there's lower flushing power. Luckily, the flapper is easy and cheap to replace on most toilets.
Be very careful when tightening the washers and nuts against the toilet base; they should be snug but not overly tight, which can crack the toilet.
If the tank is wobbling, then there is possibly a loose bolt in the tank that keeps it attached to the bowl. In this case, you need to tighten them up a little bit. You don't want them too tight as it could be difficult to remove or even start to crack the tank itself.
A toilet is supposed to be secure to the floor. It is not designed to be a rocking chair. Moving side to side or front to back is not right and a wobbly toilet is something that should be repaired. In fact, the loose toilet is one of the top ten things found most frequently during a The BrickKicker home inspection.
A sealing ring around the base of your toilet keeps urine and other waste from entering and growing bacteria in small crevices or cracks. If the sealing ring is loose or broken, sewage gas seeps through the cracks, and you'll smell a foul odor.
If your toilet isn't solidly fastened to the floor, there may be trouble in your future. Any movement of the toilet damages the wax seal. That leads to leaks and major repairs. To steady a rocking toilet, cut plastic shims to fit and slip them underneath (you may have to remove caulk before adding shims).
🚽 Caulking Prevents Water Contamination
Without caulk around the toilet base, water can get under there and sit for a long time. Stagnant water is a breeding ground for bugs and mold. Applying silicone caulk prevents water infiltration and helps you maintain and clean and healthy bathroom.
International building codes require that a fixture shall be made watertight where it comes in contact with the wall or floor. One way of making sure this code is adhered to is by caulking around the toilet.
In conclusion, the wax ring on your toilet will most likely never need to be replaced for the lifetime of the toilet. But, it will if you find that the base of your toilet is leaking. Sometimes, leaks at the base can be caused by the bolts being too loose. On the other hand, it could be because of a faulty wax ring.
A faulty or broken flange may be attributed to a loose or worn-out wax seal. However, flaws in the foundation, like an uneven floor, may also cause the toilet's base to leak.
To prevent your toilet from “having an accident” on your bathroom floor, its best to contact a plumber to inspect the problem. A rocking toilet can be caused by any number of issues, including a worn-out wax ring, a broken flange, broken flange bolts, or a sagging floor.
Loose Pipes
The cause of this type of movement is usually the wax seal that binds the toilet to the floor cracking. As the toilet rocks, water siphons out and seeps onto the floor or into the walls of your home. This issue can lead to a bigger problem, perhaps even the destruction of your home.
The wax ring is exactly what it sounds like: a ring made of sticky wax that helps form a watertight seal between the bottom of the toilet and the sewer pipe. It requires no maintenance and can last 30 or more years, often as long as the toilet itself. But sometimes wax rings can dry out, crumble, and fail prematurely.
It is recommended to replace the caulk in your bathroom every 5 years, even if it isn't showing signs of wear and tear. By maintaining and replacing your caulking regularly, you prevent damage that may be caused by peeling, cracking, mold or mildew.