If you have ever taken a look at the base of your Bay Village home’s toilet where it meets the floor, you may have noticed a bead of caulk sealing the base of the toilet to the floor. While this watertight seal is important, there is actually a more important seal hidden within the base of the toilet.

Inside, your toilet sits on a wax ring that serves to keep sewer odors from wafting into the room, seal water from leaking from the bathroom plumbing and provides a degree of stability to the toilet installation. You may need to replace that seal if:

• You notice leaking water at the base of the toilet.
• You smell sewer odors in your bathroom.
• The toilet is unstable or rocks side to side at all.
• The toilet was removed temporarily for any reason, such as replacing it or putting down new flooring.

As it happens, replacing the toilet seal is a fairly simple and inexpensive operation that you can do on your own. To take care of this job yourself, follow these 16 steps:

1. Shut off the water supply.
2. Empty the bowl and tank by flushing the toilet. You may have to flush twice.
3. Get the bowl and tank completely dry by soaking up any remaining water with a sponge, rag or towel.
4. Remove the bolts that attach the base of the toilet to the floor.
5. Disconnect the supply line the leads into the toilet.
6. Gripping the bowl, rock the toilet gently back and forth to break the seals.
7. Lift the toilet free from the floor.
8. Now you can see the remnants of the old wax ring. Remove all that thoroughly.
9. Place the new seal in place of the old one, centering it exactly, with the rounded side up.
10. Replace the toilet over the seal and flange.
11. Have a seat! No, really; this helps to create a new seal between the ring and the toilet.
12. Reattach the nuts you removed from the base.
13. Reconnect the water line.
14. Turn the water supply back on.
15. Flush the toilet, looking carefully for any leaks.
16. Apply a new bead of caulk to the bottom of the bowl to complete the sealing job.

And if you run into any problems, call your local Bay Village plumber!