Tag: toilets

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How To Replace A Toilet

How to Replace a Toilet | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

Is your toilet old, cracked, or ugly? Does it waste more water than a sprinkler system left on all day just to water someone’s lawn? Did you win a new toilet in the company raffle and now you don’t know what to do with it?

If so, here’s a handy guide to replacing your own toilet.

Now look – it’s best if you give us a call before replacing your toilet. Let a professional residential household plumbing contractor take care of it. So you might think it’s a little weird that we have this article on here in the first place.

And I’d rather you call us. You’ll save yourself a lot of headaches. But if you’re the type of person who’s going to do it yourself anyway – because you like to tinker and learn how stuff works, you want to save some money, or you’re just too stubborn to ask for help – then you may as well at least read an article on it from someone who knows what they’re doing.

So here’s how to install a toilet.

Step 1: Turn Off The Water

If you didn’t know that this is THE VERY FIRST STEP when you replace any plumbing fixtures, stop what you’re doing and call us. Seriously, this one’s a no brainer. Undoing your old toilet with the water turned on will be a complete nightmare for you.

Step 2: Drain The Tank

Flush the toilet to empty the toilet out. If you turned the water off properly, it shouldn’t fill itself back up. Soak up anything that doesn’t drain out with a rag – you want it as bone dry as possible.

Step 3: Remove The Tank

Disconnect the water supply line underneath the tank and the flapper chain inside the tank. Then unscrew the bolts holding the tank in place and remove it.

Stick it outside, or lay down an old towel and put it on there.

Step 4: Remove The Bowl

Unscrew the bolts on the floor holding the bowl in place. Then rock it back and forth a bit to loosen it up. Pick the bowl up and carry it outside or put it on the towel. I hope you don’t plan on using that towel again, because the wax on the bottom of the bowl is going to ruin it.

Step 5: Clean The Drain

The drain hole is going to have some wax left over on it. Clean away as much of it as you can. Check out the bolts too – if they’re rusty, you should replace them.

Step 6: Get The New Toilet In Place

Get out your new wax ring and attach it to the bottom of your toilet. Then get ready to line up the ring with the drain and with the two bolts sticking out of the floor.

You only get one shot at this, so if you miss you need to get a new wax ring. There are no second chances here.

Once it’s in place, rock it back and forth to seal it in place, then bolt it down

Step 7: Attach The Tank

Remember how you removed the tank? Yeah do all that again, but in backwards order.

Step 8: Reattach The Water

Once it’s finished, test for leaks. Be ready with some old towels to soak the water up in case of emergency.

What Can Go Wrong?

This might seem like a simple process, and it kind of is. As far as plumbing installs go, a toilet is one of the easier ones. But that doesn’t mean it’s idiot proof.

If you read this and it still doesn’t make sense, it’s probably best for you to call a professional plumber, like the team we have here at London Plumbing. We can help you install your new toilet, sink, bathtub, or any other plumbing fixture you’re planning on replacing.

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5 More Things You Should Never Flush Down The Drain

5 More Things You Should Never Flush Down The Drain | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

Last week I told you about a few things you shouldn’t flush down the drain.

Ever.

Ever ever ever ever!

They were:

• Cat litter
• Baby wipes
• Disposable diapers
• Feminine hygiene products
• Cotton balls

But that’s not all. There are a whole lot more things that, if you flush them, you’re booking yourself a one-way trip to 24 hour emergency plumber city. Population – you, your toilet, and your wallet.

Yeah I know, it’s a hassle. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just throw everything in the toilet and flush it? Then it all disappears and you never have to think about it again?

Maybe in the future we’ll have robots in the pipes to clear up any clogs. But until then here are five more things you should NEVER flush down the drain.

Condoms

Imagine a tree root growing through your pipe. A stick right through the middle of it, like a no smoking sign. Then imagine you flush a condom past it. What do you think is going to happen?

Maybe it’ll pass by, if you’re lucky. But maybe it’ll catch on it, which will make the tree root block more of the pipe. Then imagine more stuff catches on it, and you can see what I’m talking about here.

Don’t flush your condoms. Wrap them up in toilet paper and throw them in the trash. Trust me, it’s embarrassing when your plumber finds out that’s the reason for your clogged pipes!

Bandages

Is it a cloth bandage? Then it’s not going to break up when you flush it. And because it’s designed to absorb liquid (blood, in this case), it can end up expanding in your pipes and catching on the smallest chip or root in your pipe.

Is it an adhesive bandage, like a Band-Aid? Then it’s sticky, so it might get stuck to the side of your pipes. And even if you fold it up before you flush it, it’s not designed to break up, so you’ll get the same problem as anything else.

Just don’t flush it. I know it’s kind of gross and has blood on it. But don’t flush it.

Fats, Cooking Oils Or Grease

You’re probably not flushing this down the toilet. You’re probably pouring it down your kitchen sink drain if anything. But hey, don’t do either of those.

This stuff is gooey and sticks to the sides of your pipes. Then when you flush that bandage or cotton ball down the drain (even though I told you not to!) it can get stuck to the goo that’s built up. Don’t flush it!

Keep an empty can in your freezer, and pour the grease into it when you’re done cooking. Then when you’ve filled it up toss it in the garbage. Or you can open the door and toss the oil in your backyard. Or you can whip it up into a smoothie, I don’t care. Just don’t flush it!

Rice

Again, probably not a toilet thing. But look – rice expands in water. So if you’ve got a bunch of rice going down your drain, what do you think is going to happen?

Don’t flush rice. Don’t put rice down the drain. Put it in the garbage, or better yet – just eat it!

Paint, Household Chemicals, And Other Hazardous Waste

Are you crazy? You’re pouring that stuff down your drain? Stop stop stop!

First of all, that’s illegal. And second, this stuff can get into the water supply, harm wildlife, and also damage your pipes.

You can take it to a waste disposal site. Here’s a list of the ones in London. You might also be able to donate your old paint to community projects or children’s charities.

Prescription Medication

For those of you at home counting along, you’ll notice this is the sixth in a list of five. But that’s just an added bonus for you. That’s right – buy five, get one free! You never know what sort of crazy deals you’ll find

Now look, this one’s not so bad for your pipes. But there’s more to life than just pipes.

When you flush this stuff down the drain, it can end up in the local water supply, in the Thames River, or in other ponds or lakes nearby. And if they’re antibiotics they can kill a lot of the animals in the water. And look, the Thames River has enough problems as it is. We don’t need to make it worse.

The London Police has a program where you can turn in your old prescription drugs. Here’s a London Free Press article on it.

Contact London Plumbing

Look, no one’s perfect. Even if you know this stuff, maybe your kids don’t. And maybe you’ve got a clogged drain because your teenage son wants to flush his condoms so you don’t know what he’s up to.

Whatever the reason, we won’t judge. We’ll just clear your drain. Give us a call, we’re happy to help!

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5 Things You Should NEVER Flush Down The Drain

5 Things You Should Never Flush Down The Drain | London Plumbing | London Ontario Plumber

Here at The London Ontario Plumbing Company, we’ve been clearing drains and solving plumbing problems for a while now. But the same problems often pop up from house to house, and I’m convinced this is because people just don’t know enough about how their toilets should work. I guarantee every london general plumbing repair company deals with these on a regular basis.

Drop it in the water, flick the lever, and the problem disappears, right? That’s how it might seem on the surface, but there’s a lot more to it than that. In fact, the only things you SHOULD flush down the toilet are toilet paper and, well, your waste.

Here are some of the most common things that can clog a toilet.

Cat Litter

This one drives me nuts, because there are lots of brands of cat litter that the companies advertise as “flushable” as though it won’t cause tons of problems if you flush them!

The truth is, this stuff clogs up drains like crazy. Because it’s designed to clump up, it can stay stuck in the drain and build up, causing a clog. And if you’re using clay-based litter, it can be so tough and so solid you have to actually drill through it. No fun!

Just dump it in the garbage. I don’t care what the label says. Don’t flush this stuff down the toilet!

Baby Wipes

You might think you can flush baby wipes down the toilet because you can flush toilet paper down the toilet but it doesn’t work this way.

Toilet paper is thin and flimsy and designed to dissolve in water. Go ahead, soak a piece of toilet paper and a baby wipe. The baby wipe is much stronger! This is good for your baby, but it’s not good for your plumbing.

When you flush baby wipes, they have the tendency to get stuck in the drain. This gets even worse when you have tree roots growing through your pipes, since they get caught on it and stop other things from flowing through.

Instead of flushing baby wipes, wrap them up in your used diaper and toss them away.

Speaking of which…

Disposable Diapers

Now I know what you might be thinking. How does anyone think you can flush a diaper down the toilet? They’re too big to fit!

Yeah I know, but not everyone thinks like you and I do. Some people think you can flush anything.

Don’t flush diapers. Just don’t do it. It’s a terrible idea. I don’t care what the package says – they’re not going to fit down your drain, and even if they do they’re not going to make it to the sewer. They’re going to clog your toilet and cause all sorts of problems.

Feminine Hygiene Products

Similar to baby wipes, feminine hygiene products aren’t designed to dissolve the same way toilet paper is. So when you’re done using them, you can’t flush them.

Feminine hygiene products are one of the most common things that clog drains, so if you use them you can save yourself a lot of plumbing headaches by disposing of them in the garbage.

This is especially true for tampons – after all, they’re designed to expand when they’re wet. They’re practically designed to clog pipes!

Cotton Balls

Cotton balls or cotton wipes are horrible for your drains. Cotton is designed to absorb water, so if you flush a bunch of cotton down the drain it will expand and fill your drain.

It’s even worse if you flush cotton swabs because they’re on sticks. The smallest thing can stop them from flowing through the drain away from you – and they’re going to catch everything else after them too.

Do you want a plumbing nightmare from your cotton? No? Then throw them in the garbage.

Contact The London Ontario Plumbing Company

If your drain is clogged, even if it’s because of one of these reasons, give us a shout. We’ll be there to help clear out your drains and get everything working smoothly again.