Removing an Old Unit

When that old toilet just has to go

Here are some things you should never have to say about your toilet:

• “Just jiggle the handle to get the tank to stop filling.”
• “This thing can only handle Number One. If you need to do Number Two, use the outhouse I’ve installed in the backyard.”
• “Hey, that mold growing around the bolts was there when I moved in.”
• “Yeah, well, it used to be white.”

If you find yourself saying any of these things about the porcelain throne in your bathroom, you really need to rip it out and send it to that big water closet in the sky. The job of getting an old toilet out of your bathroom isn’t simple, but it can be done with a minimum of headaches. Here are some simple steps:

The first job is to turn off the water supply at the main source. This is typically found at or around the water meter. Then flush the toilet to drain the tank. If any excess water remains, use a sponge to mop it up.

Next, you need to disconnect the water supply pipe from the underside of the tank and the pipe on the floor or at the wall using a pipe wrench. Place some towels around the base of the toilet to soak up any excess water seeping up from the disconnected piping.

Now you have to take out the nuts that hold your toilet tank to the bowl. You find these at the underside of the toilet bowl rim. If you have an older model, it’s probably fastened to the wall. If so, take out the plumbing between the bowl and the tank and then remove the nuts that fasten the tank to the wall. Now here’s the fun part: lift and take out the old tank and set it aside.

Next, if your old toilet has those nice vitreous china caps, take them off. Then remove the nuts that keep your bowl attached to the floor. Use some old rags to remove water from the bowl. Next, lift out that old bowl and move it out of the way. Take some more old rags and stuff them in the pipe to keep pestiferous sewer gas from rising up.

Now remove the old bowl’s setting compound from the floor. A putty knife or a metal spatula should do the job. Next, take out the old wax gasket from the closet flange or from the waste outlet in the floor.

Finally, look at the placement of your new toilet bowl’s bolt holes and waste outlet opening to make sure they will fit on the existing bolts. If not, remove the old bolts and install new ones. You may need to put in a new closet flange as well.