Reasons to Replace Your Old Toilet
Replacing your toilet can improve your bathroom's aesthetic appeal and conserve water.
Whether you’re interested in remodeling the bathroom, you've discovered water damage on the bathroom floor or the toilet itself is damaged, there are many reasons to undertake the task of replacing your home's toilet.
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Consult this list of common replacement causes to determine if it's time for you to invest in a new fixture:
1. Leaks: Leaks from either the toilet's tank or its bowl can go undetected for long periods of time, causing water damage to the flooring or subfloor. If allowed to continue, the entire floor may need to be replaced. Leaks can also cause damage to rooms below if the bathroom is upstairs.
Especially when dealing with older toilets, it may be more cost-effective to replace a toilet than find and repair leaks. Leaks not only cause damage but also consume water, which may increase your utility bill.
2. Poor water-use efficiency: If you have an older toilet, just flushing it on regular basis may have a negative impact on your utility bill. Toilets manufactured before 1980 can use up to 7 gallons of water with each flush.
Under federal guidelines enacted in the 1990s, modern toilets are required to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush. To determining your toilet's age, lift the lid and look for the date stamp.
Look for the Water Sense badge. If your toilet does not have it, chances are you are using more water than needed each flush and may not be up to code.
3. Appearance: Your toilet may not match your current color scheme or even have any resemblance to your sense of style or home decor. Toilets with colors like avocado green and coral pink toilets were once in vogue, but today may make your home's bathroom appear hopelessly outdated.
Modern toilets can come in a variety of colors besides the common color themes such as bone, biscuit or white, but keep in mind that designer color toilets can cost significantly more than neutral color selections.
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4. Comfort: When shopping for a new toilet, don't forget comfort. Make sure the toilet seat isn't too small or narrow and that the seat height isn't too high or low. If you're investing in a new toilet, find one that fits you and your family comfortably.
5. Broken or uncommon components: If your current toilet has a broken components such as flush handle or the interior mechanisms, weigh the cost of replacing these items versus the cost of a new unit.
6. Replacing the flooring: If you plan to replace your bathroom's flooring during a remodel, consider replacing the toilet. In many cases, the existing unit will have to be temporarily uninstalled to make way for the new flooring, so it may be an ideal time to upgrade to a new unit.
Replacing a toilet is a task best left to a qualified plumbing professional. Porcelain can be extremely heavy yet easy to chip or crack, the unit should properly plumbed to the existing drain system to prevent leaks and ensure proper operation.
Need additional guidance for replacing plumbing fixtures in your bath or home?