Installing Low-Flow Toilets
Chances are, if you need to replace a toilet in your home, you will have to buy a new low-flow model. Here's how to install a low-flow toilet:
- Visit your local home improvement or hardware store and choose a low-flow toilet. Read all of the instructions accompanying the model, and determine the tools you will need. You will need to buy a bowl wax.
- Cover the bathroom floor with a tarp while you work. Turn off the water at the shutoff valve on the wall behind the toilet, and flush the toilet a few times to drain the water out of the tank and bowl.
- Remove the tank lid and put it in a safe place where you won't trip on it and break it. Remove the tank from the bowl by loosening and removing the bolts underneath the tank. Set the tank in the same safe place you've set the tank lid.
- Remove the toilet from the floor by loosening the bolts from the toilet base and removing them. You'll need to wriggle the bowl around gently to break the seal from the bowl wax. Place the old toilet bowl outside or in a garage. Do not place it on the floor, as wax residue will be left behind, creating a mess to clean later.
- Clean the mounting flange, removing the old bowl wax and waste.
- Install the new bowl wax, and then position the new toilet bowl over the flange, while lining up the floor bolt holes with the toilet bolt holes. Seat the new toilet by rocking the bowl from side to side until it sits level.
- Tighten the bolts a little at a time, alternating from one bolt to the next until they are snug. Install the tank, and turn the water on to check for leaks, flush the toilet, and ensure a good flush.
Use silicon caulking to seal the toilet to the floor.
Author Bio
April Reinhardt
An administrator for a mutual fund management firm, April deals with the written word daily. She loves to write and plans to author a memoir in the near future. April attended Morehead State University to pursue a BA degree in Elementary Education. Learn more about April...
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