Fernco Wax-Free Toilet Seal

[KansasGuy]

Any opinions on these versus regular wax rings? Seems like they should last longer, etc.

[jadnashua]

They don't necessarily last longer, but they can last a very long time. Wax is pretty robust, and as long as the toilet is shimmed (when needed) and doesn't rock, it should easily last decades without issues. The only things that generally affect a wax ring are if it is used thicker than normal and you plunge exuberantly - you might get a blowout, the toilet rocks, so it gets a gap, or if you use hot water, and potentially melt it (a radiator very close might do it as well, but isn't too common). The waxless seals require the insides of the pipe to be clean and smooth to make the seal, and are good if you like to repaint or wallpaper often...you can pull the toilet and reuse the thing.

[KansasGuy]

Thanks, Jim.

[stephenk]

Here's another alternative:
http://sanisealgasket.com/

They're a little more expensive. I think I paid about $12 - $15 each for the two I used recently.

I chose them because they allow you to set and pickup the toilet several times during installation if you need to. That was a benefit for me, as the old floors in my house are pretty bowed, so it took a couple tries to get the toilets leveled properly.