wax ring and radiant heat

B

Beandippy

New Member
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi everyone. My husband re-installed our toilet over the summer, after we did some work on the bathroom floor. Our first cold spell was the last couple days, where we really had to crank up our radiant floor heat for the first time since it was done. I'm concerned because wax has melted out from around the base of the toilet, all around the edge and running into some of the grout lines. My husband is out of town, but when I called him, he told me that he thought it was just excess because they used 2 rings of the thick variety (?). I haven't been able to find any information about this online except for how to install radiant heat 6 inches from the toilet to prevent this problem. As this is an older house (1960) I have no idea how far the pipes are. How worried should I be? Could it be just excess? If not, how long will this hold up - is it safe to use, and what would the permanent solution be otherwise? Sorry for my ignorance, but seeing the yellow stuff that has oozed out has me a bit worried. Thanks for any advice. Glor
 
Beandippy said:
... just excess because they used 2 rings of the thick variety .... install radiant heat 6 inches from the toilet ... Could it be just excess ....
Click to expand...
your husband will take care of this himself when he returns. That is my bet.

the pipes in the house have no bearing on this.

if he installed radiant heat under the toilet itself, you now have a warm toilet base, not hot. I doubt it can melt wax!

if he installed two heavy wax rings, there will be a lot of excess.

to find out if wax can melt at the temperature your floor is at, go buy one more wax ring at a hardware store, and get a thermometer, and start measuring temperature as you raise heat on the wax, using whatever heat source you choose to use. Cost $1. Value to you: priceless.

if there were a feature in the software to indicate on the side what one feels about a new thread (and to share that with Senior Members), then this thread would not rate as the most highly likely to be coming from a real person with a real problem. Having said that out loud, i now risk being told that you are a real person.. :)

David
 
If the wax seems liquidy, then I guess it is being melted. If it is solid, then it is just being squished down.

I never heard of using two extra thick rings. If the flange is that low, it should either be raised up with flange extenders or a new one put in that is resting on the finished floor.

They also make waxless toilet seals.
 
Thanks, David - the idea of getting another ring and seeing how hot it needs to be to melt is a good one. My husband is not the one who installed the radiant heat - what I meant was that it is original to the house, and I don't know how close those hot water pipes are because they were already there. What I do know is that our toilet is directly on the other side of the wall from our boiler, and our bathroom floor gets really hot compared to the rest of the floors in our home. And yes, I certainly do hope my husband will take care of it when he gets back - I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to regret not calling someone out right away. That said, what was it you meant about me being a real person? Last time I checked......
 
Thanks Eric. Yes, it is definitely melted - there was nothing there until the heat was turned up, and I know this because I just got through scrubbing the grout. I wasn't there when they installed it, so I'm not sure about the whys of using the two thick rings - that's what I was told. Again, I'm sorry to sound so ignorant about this, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to have an emergency on my hands if I didn't call someone out right away. I'm beginning to worry that we may have to call someone out to get it right.
 
If there is wax running out from under the toilet, it has to be melting. The best solution to this is probably a waxless seal. Once the wax seal has basically flowed away, you may not leak sewage, but it opens it up to leak sewer gas. If the sewer line were to get clogged, stuff could come out of that gap, but without that, it basically just flows down without leaking.

I've got one made by Fluidmaster installed on my toilets. I purposely kept the radiant heat tubing outside of the toilet footprint so I doubt it could melt a regular wax ring, but I liked the ability to pull the toilet to say paint, or other things, and not have to scrape wax and stuff, and basically just reinsert the toilet. A second advantage to this type of seal is that it directs the waste through a funnel and can aid if the flange is low (mine weren't, but sounds like yours may be).

Most radiant floor heating systems limit the floor surface temperature, so this normally would not happen. Sounds like yours is hotter than often recommended.
 
Beandippy said:
Thanks, David ...
... what was it you meant about me being a real person?
Click to expand...

Please pardon David.

Beandippy said:
... the radiant heat ... is original to the house, and I don't know how close those hot water pipes are because they were already there. What I do know is that our toilet is directly on the other side of the wall from our boiler, and our bathroom floor gets really hot compared to the rest of the floors in our home.
Click to expand...

If both the radiant heat and the toilet have always been there with no known melting-ring problem in the past, then maybe the oozing will stop after any excess has dissipated. But if you ever begin seeing moisture coming out from under the toilet (or dripping down below), some different kind of sealer will need to be used.
 
With Radiant heat the floor temperature should not be more than 85 deg and wax rings will melt at 130 deg, not sure how your rings are melting unless your floor is producing 130 degrees and up.

Are you running hot water or electric radiant heat.
Either one i would check if it's high enough to melt wax.
 
Thanks Jim. Yeah, it kind of looks like we will have to get it re-done, and the waxless will probably be the way to go. (I'm not looking forward to bringing this up with the husband - we've done more to this house this year than anyone can imagine) I'm just wondering about the urgency of it - how long it would take before it melts to the point of leaking the sewer gas. Thanks for letting me know that water and sewage won't leak out unless there's a backup - I didn't know that, and I was worried that the thing would melt away and stuff would start flowing out from there. Uggh. One problem after another with this house. But thanks very much for the info. Glor
 
Thanks, Lee.



If both the radiant heat and the toilet have always been there with no known melting-ring problem in the past, then maybe the oozing will stop after any excess has dissipated. But if you ever begin seeing moisture coming out from under the toilet (or dripping down below), some different kind of sealer will need to be used.
Click to expand...

The thing is, there may have been a problem in the past. When we redid the tiles, the ones around the edge of the toilet were loose and yuccy underneath. We attributed it to the mastic that was used, and made sure to use a cement based mortar this time around. But maybe the real problem was moisture from a wax ring that had melted over time. We're on a slab, so no dripping down below. I'm hoping that maybe it is just excess from around the edges, but in the end, we may end up having to put in something different.
 
Thanks, Peanut. How can I measure the temp. of the floor - just stick a thermometer on it? If I had to guess, I would say our bathroom floor gets well over 85 degrees, but under 130. I'd like to find out. Also, it's water based - not electric.
 
Last edited:
Replacing a toilet seal is not a big deal. The Fluidmaster seal is about $10, and basically, 1. shut off the toilet supply water, 2. flush th etoilet, hold down the handle to get rid of as much water as possible, 3. disconnect the hose from the toilet, 4. take off the bolts from the toilet, 5. lift it off, set it down on a piece of cardboard or something else you don't care to keep. Then, you'll have to take a look at both the flange and the bottom of the toilet. then, follow the instructions on how to install the new seal.

You might want to use a plunger to push as much water out of the bowl as you can before you lift it off since you'll need to at least tip it up to look and maybe clean off any existing wax.
 
Thanks again, Jim. That makes me feel a little better. I thought maybe it would be expensive or difficult to install one. Still don't think he'll be thrilled.... Thanks for the help, though.
 
Thanks kordts. Fernco, huh? Maybe if I can find it somewhere else- I swear that we've had problems with every single thing we've ever gotten from Menard's. Thanks, though.
 
The surface temperature of a slab doesnt have much to do with the temp of the circulating water. You need to check the water temperature. Heat trapped under the toilet can easily soften or melt a wax ring. Rug around the toilet? Check the water temp leaving the furnace with a strapped on thermometer, although a good system will have an installed thermometer. If you have PEX pipe and your water temp is over 150 degrees, you better check your pressure as well because you may be destroying the pipe. You might soon have a few fountains [bidets?] springing up from the bath floor. Better to keep the water temp low and run the circulator full time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
Wax ring/odor?
Replies
2
Views
263
Reach4
Reach4
Djarchow
How to know if new wax ring is leaking just a little?
Replies
4
Views
8K
Integrity Repipe
I
A
Leak at Cold Water Connection to Shower Valve
Replies
3
Views
3K
John Gayewski
John Gayewski
D
New Construction Radiant Heating, Snow Melt, and Pool Heat... Just one Boiler?
Replies
1
Views
4K
Fitter30
Fitter30
D
Radiant Heating, Snow Melt, and Pool Heat... Just one Boiler?
Replies
0
Views
4K
DaveG
D
Back
Top