Something as simple as a cracked floor tile or a slightly uneven floor can cause a rocking toilet. This is often easily fixed by an adjustment to one of the legs of the toilet. However, any unevenness in the flooring can cause a rocking toilet.
You do not want to reuse an old flange or plastic rings as this can lead to leakage. Another way to eliminate a rocking toilet is to place flexible Wobble Wedges plastic shims underneath the base of the toilet. A DIY trick is to use some caulk with shims to keep them in place under the toilet bowl base.
Most often, toilets rock back and forth because of a loose bolt, an uneven floor, or problems with the wax seal that connects your toilet to its drainage system. It might not seem like a huge problem, but a toilet that rocks back and forth can cause significant issues down the line.
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
It could be water splashing out of a bathtub, mop water, water from a shower and even misguided potty training from your young boys who seem to miss the toilet bowl every single time! Without caulk around the toilet base, water can get under there and sit for a long time.
A loose toilet is a pretty quick and easy problem to solve, but we recommend hiring a professional because an inexperienced DIY-er may make it worse or cause other problems. Expect to pay $50 to $150 to fix a loose toilet.
There are purists out there that may say it must be level, but if it looks good setting there, I would let it set on the floor with no shims. It should not affect the operation of the flapper or valve that flushes the toilet.
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.
The flange bolts that secure the toilet base are themselves held by a metal or plastic ring at the top of the toilet flange. The ring can corrode or break, loosening its grip on the bolts. If the rocking comes back after a while, or if the bolts loosen up and won't retighten, a damaged flange is likely the cause.
There could be a broken flange. The flange is the mechanical connection where the toilet is mounted to the plumbing at the floor. There could be deterioration of the floor and an unstable base. There could be floor variations that cause the flat base of the toilet to rock on the irregular surface.
Several things could be causing the wobble. The closet bolts might not be tight, or the closet flange may be broken or bent. Or, the wax ring that seals the connection between the toilet and the discharge pipe may be not be set properly. Tightening the closet bolts is an easy fix.
It is quite common for minerals such as calcium and lime, along with debris particles such as rust to build up in the rim feed and jet holes of the toilet bowl. Over time, these deposits restrict and block water from flowing into the toilet bowl which will cause a weak or incomplete flush.
High level cisterns can be said to benefit from improved gravity and greater pressure with the higher cistern helping water flush with more force.
The Toilet's Age
A general rule of thumb is to replace a toilet around every 25 years, though your mileage may vary. You might also want to consider replacing your toilet if it was installed before 1994.
Replacing the fill and shut-off valve costs an average of $120 – $250. This includes the cost of the replacement parts and the cost of labor.
The price of replacing a fill valve ranges between $60 and $150. The fill valve is the other important valve in the tank.
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.
If the wax ring has plastic reinforcement, the plastic must fit into the waste line, so it's usually best to place the ring on the flange. Then drop the toilet into place. Once that's done, it's important to compress the wax ring to make the toilet sit flush on the floor before bolting it in.
As a toilet rocks, that seal can get a little looser each time. If you go without addressing a rocking toilet, the sewage leakage in your bathroom will just continue to get worse.