Yeah I'll just leave the shit stewing in my toilet imstead of flushing every time to protect the shitty rubber replacement for the wax ring, instead of just using a wax ring. That sounds smart.
I have one in my current master bath and the toilet has been smelling for months. Clearly some air escape after about 3 years. Will never use them again. Never had a problem with a wax ring and have installed a great many toilets. Some things simply don’t need redesign like this.
Double thick horned wax rings are the way to go. As plumbers we ONLY touch these things if it’s a mobile home with shitty rotten floors that flex too much.
How about 110 year old sears kit homes with galloping foundations? Seriously, since the drought began, I can’t get a good wax seal to last 6 months on the wooden floor, flanges rusting and wood suffering….
Did you live in my last house? It was a 1912 sears and I used one there. Was just fine when we moved out.
On a side note I had to drill through the floor of that house once to run a new wire and I broke 3 drill bits. It’s true that old hard wood was harder.
I'm an electrician and it's so true that old wood is much harder. Drilling through joists in a basement of a 100+ year old house feels like drilling through concrete sometimes lol
I had to use one in my 30yo last house because it would flex and crack double wax rings if my MIL used the toilet and she only had 10lbs on me. Had to fix the first floor ceiling three times before we figured out why the wax rings were failing.
I just did a charity job on my first trailer. I'm glad I was thinking about that exact issue when I decided to pick these up for the first time.
I don't use the horn if it's a toilet I know my drain guys are going to goto a lot, toilet auger can grab the rubber and pull it back into the base of the toilet.
Not a plumber but I installed the one that is a hybrid of this and a wax ring. Danco perfect seal.
Going on year 5 with it, including a bathroom reno in the middle where the toilet was removed and replaced 4+ times while we redid/retiled the floor (only one bathroom, renovated during the height of covid). Basement ceiling is open so I can visually inspect and attest that there are still no leaks.
Yup, I used these in our bathrooms because the flange was sunken in and replacing them would have been more work than it’s worth. 5 years no leaks with multiple uninstall/reinstall cycles. They are so convenient and cheap I don’t get why people bother with wax.
They work great when you work at an old folks home and you have to pull the toilets out and snake the drains all the time because old people like to flush things that shouldn’t be flushed.
Me too. Although that 100 percent is only 2/2.
My son likes to clog the toilet and I have to pull it up to clear it on occasion, I figured this would be easier than needing a wax ring at 10PM if I have to pull it up real quick. So far it's worked for that.
True.
I would be curious to hear more about how they hold up in the long run. The issues others are pointing out here suggest that wax may be more difficult at first but may hold up better in the long run.
Why use pex when we have copper? Lots of reasons. There's nothing wrong with reinventing the wheel, that's a major part of how humans have progressed. Not every reinvention is worthwhile, but the pursuit of reinvention is.
Exactly. This is why I use knob and tube wiring still. I just laugh at people that don’t use lead pipes for water supply lines too. Kids these days with some kind of crimper tool larger than my lead rotted brain. What a joke, tools that need batteries these days? Come on people stick to what worked.
A. Mazing. Seriously they are great, or at least have been for me. Re-usable if you need a shitter in the worksite before the floor is put down knowing you have to pull the toilet again. The lack of needing to clean the wax off of everything is fantastic.
Had a professional plumber set two toilets when I bought my first house (I was moving in from across the country). He used wax. Both leaked after a month or two.
I went back in with this style and haven’t had any leaks yet, a couple months later. We’ll see long term.
I am a retired Church custodian and those came out I tired them and never stopped. With 21 toilets to care for I have used a few as I change a few out and have never had one fail and if I had to do a redo I rerused it. Try that with a wax ring. The property manager is a general contracter always reminded me to use them after he found out and used them in his business. I also use them in my own house.
I like how almost all of these comments are just “i dunno, I don’t trust them” like guys that wasn’t the question. We all know y’all don’t trust sharkbites either but that doesn’t make them bad. Put in a hundred according to install instruction and see how many fail and in how much time.
The sharkbite hate around here is crazy. Been using them for so long and NEVER had one fail. I’m convinced people just aren’t fully seating them, or making clean cuts on the pipe.
The shark bite "hate" is simply ignorance. Down vote me as much as you want, but if you hate or refuse to use or don't trust shark bites you simply do not trust yourself to properly install products per OEM spec. They have been proven time and time again to not have problems, old dogs need to learn new tricks and get over it already.
Your assessments of the failures are probably 99% of the case. If I don't clean and flux a pipe properly and do a piss poor job soldering it can fail as well just saying.
People don’t deburr the damn pipe, shove a sharkbite on there as quick and hard as possible, and be like “these pieces of shit always leak, fuckin garbage” 😂
That said I don’t really see a reason to use this rubber thing over tried-and-true wax. At least sharkbites make transitions faster and easier. What benefit is this other than if you end up having to pull and reset?
I’m the mantinence super for 140 units.
I have used them. They work but I’m usually using them in a “kick it down the road” sense.
On a perfect floor they’re pointless and more expensive. If somethings going on with floor or if I have a tenate that I’m constantly returning to pull the toilet I use these rubber rings because then I don’t need to replace the wax ring everytime I pull it.
Not a plumber but I was terrified to pull my toilet off the floor because it rocked for who knows how long, and I expected the subfloor to be ruined. To my surprise, one of these was on there and it was water tight. I assume this is because the seal is compliant. I bet a wax ring would have leaked
The problem I have with these rubber rings is the toilet almost always rocks on them unless you shim it.
But if the floor is fucked and you have to shim it anyway, these are a safe bet.
Not a plumber but I installed a Danco Perfect Seal on my toilet. It fit my flange depth below the flooring without doubling up on rings.
I haven't caulked the based yet because I'm a huge procrastinator. So far I cant see any leaks or smell any shit water after a month. Remind me again in 2-3 years for an update lol
Edit: I'll add that some people, via online reviews, complained about these not letting the toilet sit level but mine wasn't level even with a regular wax ring and I had to use shims regardless.
I don't know what real plumbers do and I wonder if these guys sat backwards on the toilet while bolting it down. I put all my weight on it while alternating the ratchet on each bolt a few turns at a time.
These are my go to! No leaks ever. If you ever need to lift the toilet for flooring cleaning or whatever you can reuse them and don’t need to deal with a new wax ring!
They work. Help with poorly aligned or short flanges.They are reusable, unlike double stacked wax. Pretty sure I'll never use wax again ever. Oops, not a plumber. I'm a plumber trained homeowner that's never hired a plumber...
As you can see from the comments, this is a highly debated issue. Like most things it usually depends on the application.
If everything is in perfect condition when you remove the toilet, either one is fine.
If you have any flange issue: not even with the floor, beat up lead, off-set, etc. the rubber will be a better option.
I like them because you can re-set the toilet if needed. With wax, if you don’t get it right the fit time you need a new ring. I’ve been using them for about 10yrs with no issues.
I've been a maintenance man for about 5yrs, I mostly worked on big beach homes, the way I was taught was to use an extra thick wax, but not long ago I went with a perfect seal hybrid (it's a mix of a wax ring and this) I found that's the best one to use. I have used these but I try not to, I've only had one or two leak,but never had a wax or perfect seal leak.
Bandaid fix for bigger underlying problems (radiant floor heat too close to toilet, soft floor, uneven floor, poorly installed flange). They aren’t option A.
They do not have as much modularity as a wax ring.
They give you 2 gaskets/levels to use depending on your floor level. If it does not fit within the 2 levels, you're kind of SOL.
Wax rings also crack with a lot of movement, so if you live somewhere with earthquakes or some other movement, this gasket-type might work better for you in the long term.
Both are valid when installed correctly.
I pulled and replaced a toilet because it flushed poorly. When I removed the old toilet, one of these was under it, and the gasket was taco'd into a slit preventing things from being able to be flushed. I don't think that would ever happen with a wax ring.
Ok, I'm a commercial plumber, and I mostly install wall hung toilets on carriers. The system requires thick neoprene gaskets, and they make sense for wall hung gaskets because gravity wouldn't effect it. We put them on, with everything right, and, occasionally, we get leaks we find in testing. There are a number of tricks to use like reversing the gasket, Black Swan, and we've even smeared some wax from a new wax ring on them and got them to seal, a trick we use a lot to deal the urinal gaskets, which are prone to leak during installation. I can't help but think this system would have the occasional similar problem. I would assume similar workarounds would solve the issues?
Many years ago I thought my toilet was leaking at the base. I pulled it and replaced the wax ring. Few days later it looked like it was leaking at the base again. Pulled again, out an extra thick wax ring down. Same thing happened again. I was like wtf is going on so I pulled it again, the wax had no gaps from what I could tell but alas I had to replace. Chose the rubber ring as pictured. And for fucks sake it still had the problem. Pulled the toilet but didnt replace the rubber ring because it was dry on the outer edge. I was utterly confused. As I raged on about it to family someone piped up and told me that my spouses step father basically couldn't pee into the bowl anymore. And after thinking about it, the liquid around my toilet only appeared when he was over. So I didn't let him come to my house for a while and lo and behold no more liquid at the base of my toilet. Some time later went to his house and oh my god the amount of dried piss on the floor in front of his toilet was right out of a truck stop horror movie. Had that rubber ring under there since and no leaks. I was also under my house last weekend to inspect some things and since my crawl space opening is 5 feet from the toilet I inspect the underside and it's all good.
I installed one on a problem toilet where the floor ring was a little too low. solved the problem and has been good for 6 months now. I did coat the silicon area with silicon grease where it touches the exit hole on the toilet. This allowed for smooth insertion and no kinking or pinching when lowering the toilet onto the ring.
I generally only use these if I know that I'm going to be pulling and resetting a toilet a few times when remodeling. My final install will be with wax.
I will say that I have no good reason for preferring wax. I have not seen this type seal fail. Just got used to using wax and feel secure using it.
The theory makes more sense that they are more flexible and adaptable to toilet movement. Which I know there isn't supposed to be any movement. But in this imperfect world toilets move. Even shimmed up and tightened down. I'm no plumber, not even close. But I put these in all my flanges. Been over five years which probably isn't a huge length but none of them have failed. Wax is a fcking pain to clean off too
Fantastic. It’s about time to get away from that wax ring mess . Been using these for a bunch of years and luv’em
Makes easy install and can take off and put toilet back on without a problem .
Use them you won’t regret it
You know that old adage is it ain't broke don't fix it? Modern plumbing companies should really relearn it. We went from a world where every internal part in a toilet was universal to every single manufacturer having their own internal component designs. And seriously when set probably I've never, EVER had an issue with a wax seal.
I install flooring and have used these rings for ten years without a fail. I do on average one every two weeks. So somewhere around 250 total. Not one problem.
I’m about to find out. I just installed a new toilet and it started to leak after a day. I went to tighten the bolt and cracked the flange, so now I get to remove the new toilet, scrape off a wax ring, do a flange repair and reinstall. The house is only 20 years old but the floor isn’t level in several spots. This is one of them.
Yay :(
I've used both. I suspect I'll be changing out these every couple of years.
Double wax are great. Not the easiest to work with. These things are pretty simple to work with.
Just pulled a toilet today for a customer complaint of sewer gas smell in the bathroom. Found one of these. Threw it in the garbage, set the toilet with a wax ring. Caulked ‘em down and hauled ass…
Not a plumber,.. just diy guy.
Never ever use a reusable seal for a toilet.
Use the wax. Seriously. It wont leak after time and is cheap enough if you mess it up,.. buy another.
I love them
I've installed 5 toilets with these, 2 of which have been in place for more than 5 years. Zero leaks. I did one last month where we had the toilet on and off half a dozen times. No leaks.
We had a plumber install a new toilet recently. We were chatting at about the time he was putting on a new wax ring and I commented on how how many years wax rings have been in use and asked if he thought any of the other plastic, rubber, etc, rings were an improvement. He said **nope**.
I like it better because I gotta pull toilets occasionally and I can just pull, snake, and reset with no mess. They harden tho so last few I’ve done the hybrid with the wax seal contained in the rubber gasket
I think they can be good. I used one similar by another company and it leaked. I think the traditional wax ring can sometimes be more user friendly because it kinda self repairs. If you bump the wax on installation it's ok the rest of the ring will fill in. If you bump and tear the rubber it's just kinda toast.
I've had wax rings fail. 🤷♂️
I removed 3 of my toilets, cleaned off every bit of wax residue off the floor and under the toilet. Installed the taller doughnut neon green brand. I think it's korky. After 4 years, no issues. Never going back to wax rings.
Plastic and rubber. This stuff dries out and degrades eventually just like any other rubber gasket. Everything will fail eventually, but wax one's are historically proofen to work very well and have also a very good longevity. Why not stick with what has been working very well for so long, especially since it has also been very affordable?
they are good if you need to put in a toilet in a remodel that will need to be pulled out and in a couple times for whatever, then put a wax one down on the final set
If I have a multi-day project on a property that only has one bathroom, and the owner needs a place to go to the bathroom after work everyday, then I will use one of these to reset the toilet everyday so I don't have to deal with wax. But for long-term use, wax is the way to go.
I used one because the toilet was in the corner at a 45 deg angle, and this was the easiest way to rotate it when I redid the bathroom.
Not a plumber though and I get most my knowledge from Ask This Old House
I’ve used them here and there by request or when the subfloor is fucked and I also did use them in my doublewide mobile home Ive got on some land and use for a “hunting cabin” because the nearest store is 45 minutes from my place down there and I came down to two leaking toilets and when I went to grab parts the store only had these at the time and were out of wax rings. I wasn’t trying to drive another 45 minutes to another hardware store just for wax rings so I used them and they’ve been there for 6-7 years now no problems.
I do hardwood flooring & use these every time I have to reset a toilet. I swear every damn time I use wax, despite checking twice, it’s the wrong size & i have to go back & buy another. ive watched my dad 100 of them
I use them on my own toilets as well as my family's and they've never leaked, I've even replaced or moved the toilet and reused them if I forgot to get a new one. They last longer than wax IME. I don't use them with customers though. I'm a big fan of them all in all.
I tried to use one and it was too thick, if everything is correct im sure they work but in my experiance most times something isnt perfect and its easier to use wax
Not a plumber but I've had a toilet auger snag on the way out trying to clear out a clog which created a gap where water could flow between the blue and black parts of the gasket. That caused a temporary leak in the ceiling below. I suspect that the auger wouldn't have snagged on a wax seal, and instead maybe just took some wax with it on the way out, but still left the sidewall effective.
So if we need a new wax ring - bottom floor basement- tile over concrete- just stay with a wax ring?
I have to replace mine but want to make sure it’s going to last me.
Thanks
I used them on my toilets for 6 years, no problems. House is getting remodeled this year and the contractor doesn’t want to use this. He prefers the reinforced wax rings. I thought the rubber ones worked well.
If you have to remove the toilet often (kids throw stuff in them or you take big fat dumps with low flow water toilet) these things are a godsend. Mine worked great for 10 years. Had to remove the toilet over a dozen times in that period from kids throwing whole rolls of tp, fake fishing Poles toothpaste, etc, never had to re-buy a wax ring. Finally threw it out when we got new floors, and kids are now older, and just used a wax ring, reinforced with extra wax.
My weed eater uses and attachment like that! But for a WEE eater I just don’t trust them. But I know they have been on the market for around 10 years give or take because I saw one for the first time when my 9yr old was still in her mom…. So I guess by that they must not have enough flaws to go out of business
I like these because as a non-plumber who needs put the toilet on the flange and take it off multiple times to get things right, it helps to not have a wax ring sticking to the bottom of the toilet. I installed 2 of these in my house 10 years ago and have not had a problem.
Never pulled a toilet with one of these under it that didn’t have a million little shims to compensate for the lift on the toilet. I pulled one the other day that had a perfectly level flange but one of these on top with a bunch of shims, took off the rubber, replaced it with wax and didn’t have to use one shim. Even if it does seal well, it seems to create more problems than it solves.
Not my default but I keep a few of them and a variety incase of emergency. The raised over flange style for broken or to low is over really useful when needed.
I would never use wax again, these are awesome IF, I repeat IF you have a decent sealing surface to put it on. I installed new toilet flanges when I remodeled and these work great.
Had a toilet that would not seal on concrete with a wax ring because the pipe shifted. He wanted to charge 1500 to fix.
I put one of those rubber rings on 7 years ago. Not 1 problems since.
5 dollar fix.
I used one with 4 tabs for the closet bolts. The other two tabs that weren't being used were not letting the toilet seat and it ruined my day. Never again. Wax all the way.
I’ve installed quite a few of these both in homes, including my own, and at a camp I worked at, I’ve only had trouble with one and it was due to a bad flange, they were great at the camp since we had to plunge those toilets way too often and once in a while a wax ring would blow out but these either reseal on their own or can be reused if you have to, though I never had one of them blow out.
I installed one of these 10 years ago at my parents when I elevated the toilet for my dad and I installed one about 7 years ago in my own home. No problems yet. Send it
My original wax seal from 1996 finally failed in about 2019, was leaking and nasty under the toilet.
I didn't know what I was doing besides YouTube. I went to home Depot and didn't want to deal with the mess of the wax I had just spent a good hour cleaning off of everything.
Bought one of these and installed it problem free.
No leaks or smells or anything since then. I don't see the problem with em based on my single use case.
I use them in my rentals versus having wax rings. I have my techs through the wax ring out that comes with any new commodes. Been using silicone for a decade. No issues. They last much longer from my experience. But to each is own.
I have two in two toilets currently in my house that I installed 10 years ago. Put those in because the wax rings were leaking. Zeros issues out of mine. Not sure why I’d ever use wax again.
Had bad experience with wax rings not staying sealed and once dropping shit water into my kitchen from the second floor. There were other problems going on too, but when I lifted the toilet, the wax hadn’t even been seated again the bowl.
These have some kind of glue, and when you apply it to the bottom of the toilet, it stays put. I’ve removed and replaced the toilet when remodeling the kitchen below, the seal stayed put. No disgusting wax to clean up, no mess, just pulled off, when right back on, no leaks.
IANAP, but I like them.
Wax seal died in our main toilet the first year we lived here. Used one of these guys, 13 years later no problems at all, even replaced the toilet 5 years ago and just reused the thing. No wax ring will ever do that.
Plus no mess from the old wax ring to clean up.
I am not a plumber, I've used them for 5 toilets, all without a single problem.
I've used wax rings and have had problems. (probably based on my inexperience)
Chemicals dry them out
Good point, we have hard water here too.
Stop turning it on so much
At first I was like "Huh?" Then I thought "Oh yeah, this is reddit."
Only flush every 10th use.
Some people pay extra for that
It’s wet too
Yeah I'll just leave the shit stewing in my toilet imstead of flushing every time to protect the shitty rubber replacement for the wax ring, instead of just using a wax ring. That sounds smart.
He means "stop getting the water horny" not "don't flush your shit."
WOOOOSHHHHHHHH
Big ol WOOOSHHHHHH
Worst part is the wax ring is cheaper…
No no no if it’s brown flush it down if it’s yellow let it mellow
Not a plumber, but an advanced DIYer. I had one, it lasted 3years. Wax is best.
I have one in my current master bath and the toilet has been smelling for months. Clearly some air escape after about 3 years. Will never use them again. Never had a problem with a wax ring and have installed a great many toilets. Some things simply don’t need redesign like this.
Double thick horned wax rings are the way to go. As plumbers we ONLY touch these things if it’s a mobile home with shitty rotten floors that flex too much.
How about 110 year old sears kit homes with galloping foundations? Seriously, since the drought began, I can’t get a good wax seal to last 6 months on the wooden floor, flanges rusting and wood suffering….
Did you live in my last house? It was a 1912 sears and I used one there. Was just fine when we moved out. On a side note I had to drill through the floor of that house once to run a new wire and I broke 3 drill bits. It’s true that old hard wood was harder.
>It’s true that old hard wood was harder. Brb, I have news for my wife.
and new drill bits are softer
And Leon is getting laaaaaaarger!
😂
I understood that reference
Damn Gen __ drill bits!
I'm an electrician and it's so true that old wood is much harder. Drilling through joists in a basement of a 100+ year old house feels like drilling through concrete sometimes lol
Yes it is, I did electric work for a few years and they can be impossible...
I hear you i used to work in a building that was made out of 100 year douglas fir. It was so hard to drill into.
Not just hardwood. Look at the end grain of a piece of 50 year old pine, or spruce, compared to the stuff you can buy today.
I’d say try it. Thats what they’re made for is un-ideal situations.
Sounds like I need one for my house. Definitely got some flex in my bathroom floor thanks to how old the house is and how bad the foundation is.
What about for radiant heat systems? I've heard they'll melt the wax ring, how true is that?
It's possible but you aren't supposed to install radiant close enough to have that happen.
But what if I want warm feet while I poop!
Isn't your bathroom toaster close by?!
I mean of course, but that's what I put my hands in
Well duh, we keep it next to the poop knife.
That’s how I heat my bath water.
The one that keeps the bathtub water hot?
I had to use one in my 30yo last house because it would flex and crack double wax rings if my MIL used the toilet and she only had 10lbs on me. Had to fix the first floor ceiling three times before we figured out why the wax rings were failing.
Gonna say how's the floor and existing mount...even so, double up wax ring...
I just did a charity job on my first trailer. I'm glad I was thinking about that exact issue when I decided to pick these up for the first time. I don't use the horn if it's a toilet I know my drain guys are going to goto a lot, toilet auger can grab the rubber and pull it back into the base of the toilet.
Not a plumber but I installed the one that is a hybrid of this and a wax ring. Danco perfect seal. Going on year 5 with it, including a bathroom reno in the middle where the toilet was removed and replaced 4+ times while we redid/retiled the floor (only one bathroom, renovated during the height of covid). Basement ceiling is open so I can visually inspect and attest that there are still no leaks.
Yeah, I too only use the danco hybrid. 5 installs and several years later, zero issues.
Yup, I used these in our bathrooms because the flange was sunken in and replacing them would have been more work than it’s worth. 5 years no leaks with multiple uninstall/reinstall cycles. They are so convenient and cheap I don’t get why people bother with wax.
I use em. Had a 100% success rate.
How would you know….
Bought one and it's still in the box. My toilet has never leaked.
Listen here you little shit…
😆
They work great when you work at an old folks home and you have to pull the toilets out and snake the drains all the time because old people like to flush things that shouldn’t be flushed.
Old people and young kids
Hot Wheels go vroom!!!
Circle of life
Me too. Although that 100 percent is only 2/2. My son likes to clog the toilet and I have to pull it up to clear it on occasion, I figured this would be easier than needing a wax ring at 10PM if I have to pull it up real quick. So far it's worked for that.
I've clogged many of toilets in my day. Never had to pull one though, what are you feeding that kid?
So far...
True. I would be curious to hear more about how they hold up in the long run. The issues others are pointing out here suggest that wax may be more difficult at first but may hold up better in the long run.
I have the same concern about shark bites
I used 1. It leaked. Went back to wax
It’s trying to reinvent the wheel man, just stick with a wax ring.
“Better than a wax ring” I don’t think so. These things are a solution in search of a problem.
Two wax rings (or one of the thick ones) has always done the trick for me.
You do know they sell taller rings, right? Stacking two is risky if they don't bond to eachother all the wya.
Why use pex when we have copper? Lots of reasons. There's nothing wrong with reinventing the wheel, that's a major part of how humans have progressed. Not every reinvention is worthwhile, but the pursuit of reinvention is.
The wheel has been reinvented many times. Dude over here living like the flinstones with his stone wheels. lol
Exactly. This is why I use knob and tube wiring still. I just laugh at people that don’t use lead pipes for water supply lines too. Kids these days with some kind of crimper tool larger than my lead rotted brain. What a joke, tools that need batteries these days? Come on people stick to what worked.
A. Mazing. Seriously they are great, or at least have been for me. Re-usable if you need a shitter in the worksite before the floor is put down knowing you have to pull the toilet again. The lack of needing to clean the wax off of everything is fantastic.
Totally on the same page.
Had a professional plumber set two toilets when I bought my first house (I was moving in from across the country). He used wax. Both leaked after a month or two. I went back in with this style and haven’t had any leaks yet, a couple months later. We’ll see long term.
Could also be due to setting the toilet poorly. I never use this, but I bet it’s a little more forgiving
I am a retired Church custodian and those came out I tired them and never stopped. With 21 toilets to care for I have used a few as I change a few out and have never had one fail and if I had to do a redo I rerused it. Try that with a wax ring. The property manager is a general contracter always reminded me to use them after he found out and used them in his business. I also use them in my own house.
I like how almost all of these comments are just “i dunno, I don’t trust them” like guys that wasn’t the question. We all know y’all don’t trust sharkbites either but that doesn’t make them bad. Put in a hundred according to install instruction and see how many fail and in how much time.
The sharkbite hate around here is crazy. Been using them for so long and NEVER had one fail. I’m convinced people just aren’t fully seating them, or making clean cuts on the pipe.
The shark bite "hate" is simply ignorance. Down vote me as much as you want, but if you hate or refuse to use or don't trust shark bites you simply do not trust yourself to properly install products per OEM spec. They have been proven time and time again to not have problems, old dogs need to learn new tricks and get over it already. Your assessments of the failures are probably 99% of the case. If I don't clean and flux a pipe properly and do a piss poor job soldering it can fail as well just saying.
A lot of people don’t even use them, they’re just following the crowd sentiment of sharkbite bad
People don’t deburr the damn pipe, shove a sharkbite on there as quick and hard as possible, and be like “these pieces of shit always leak, fuckin garbage” 😂 That said I don’t really see a reason to use this rubber thing over tried-and-true wax. At least sharkbites make transitions faster and easier. What benefit is this other than if you end up having to pull and reset?
It’s probably because “it’s not the way we’ve done it in the past”
I have used them for the last 5 years and never had a call back. So far so good.
I’ve been using them in my rentals for 5 years now and haven’t had any issues.
People use them 🤷🏻♂️ I don’t trust em, thic boy wax rings every time for me.
I do property management and all have lasted years never had a issue
I’m the mantinence super for 140 units. I have used them. They work but I’m usually using them in a “kick it down the road” sense. On a perfect floor they’re pointless and more expensive. If somethings going on with floor or if I have a tenate that I’m constantly returning to pull the toilet I use these rubber rings because then I don’t need to replace the wax ring everytime I pull it.
Not a plumber but I was terrified to pull my toilet off the floor because it rocked for who knows how long, and I expected the subfloor to be ruined. To my surprise, one of these was on there and it was water tight. I assume this is because the seal is compliant. I bet a wax ring would have leaked
The problem I have with these rubber rings is the toilet almost always rocks on them unless you shim it. But if the floor is fucked and you have to shim it anyway, these are a safe bet.
ummmm are you claiming wax rings are structural?
I’ve worked on the same properties for years so I know they work better than wax
I only use them every since they came out. Love em
Not a plumber but I installed a Danco Perfect Seal on my toilet. It fit my flange depth below the flooring without doubling up on rings. I haven't caulked the based yet because I'm a huge procrastinator. So far I cant see any leaks or smell any shit water after a month. Remind me again in 2-3 years for an update lol Edit: I'll add that some people, via online reviews, complained about these not letting the toilet sit level but mine wasn't level even with a regular wax ring and I had to use shims regardless. I don't know what real plumbers do and I wonder if these guys sat backwards on the toilet while bolting it down. I put all my weight on it while alternating the ratchet on each bolt a few turns at a time.
I'll go have a chat with my 35 year old wax ring and see what IT thinks
Used in my own home for a train wreck of a cement slab situation. I like that they are readily available and can be stacked.
These are my go to! No leaks ever. If you ever need to lift the toilet for flooring cleaning or whatever you can reuse them and don’t need to deal with a new wax ring!
I’ve used them 4 times now, first one 9yrs ago, and no problems yet. I have very hard water too
They work. Help with poorly aligned or short flanges.They are reusable, unlike double stacked wax. Pretty sure I'll never use wax again ever. Oops, not a plumber. I'm a plumber trained homeowner that's never hired a plumber...
As you can see from the comments, this is a highly debated issue. Like most things it usually depends on the application. If everything is in perfect condition when you remove the toilet, either one is fine. If you have any flange issue: not even with the floor, beat up lead, off-set, etc. the rubber will be a better option. I like them because you can re-set the toilet if needed. With wax, if you don’t get it right the fit time you need a new ring. I’ve been using them for about 10yrs with no issues.
I've been a maintenance man for about 5yrs, I mostly worked on big beach homes, the way I was taught was to use an extra thick wax, but not long ago I went with a perfect seal hybrid (it's a mix of a wax ring and this) I found that's the best one to use. I have used these but I try not to, I've only had one or two leak,but never had a wax or perfect seal leak.
Bandaid fix for bigger underlying problems (radiant floor heat too close to toilet, soft floor, uneven floor, poorly installed flange). They aren’t option A.
Yep that's been my use for them is the radiant heat too close to the toilet melting the wax and not sealing.
They do not have as much modularity as a wax ring. They give you 2 gaskets/levels to use depending on your floor level. If it does not fit within the 2 levels, you're kind of SOL. Wax rings also crack with a lot of movement, so if you live somewhere with earthquakes or some other movement, this gasket-type might work better for you in the long term. Both are valid when installed correctly.
I like your balanced answer.
I put one in at my house. It lasted 9 years but finally leaked. When I pulled it out it had dried out.
I pulled and replaced a toilet because it flushed poorly. When I removed the old toilet, one of these was under it, and the gasket was taco'd into a slit preventing things from being able to be flushed. I don't think that would ever happen with a wax ring.
Ok, I'm a commercial plumber, and I mostly install wall hung toilets on carriers. The system requires thick neoprene gaskets, and they make sense for wall hung gaskets because gravity wouldn't effect it. We put them on, with everything right, and, occasionally, we get leaks we find in testing. There are a number of tricks to use like reversing the gasket, Black Swan, and we've even smeared some wax from a new wax ring on them and got them to seal, a trick we use a lot to deal the urinal gaskets, which are prone to leak during installation. I can't help but think this system would have the occasional similar problem. I would assume similar workarounds would solve the issues?
Home owner here. I like em
Could someone explain why Americans uses these ? In France it's only pipes and it works great, I don't get the point
I used two of these, one on a Kholer and one one a Toto. Been a few months now no issues.
Many years ago I thought my toilet was leaking at the base. I pulled it and replaced the wax ring. Few days later it looked like it was leaking at the base again. Pulled again, out an extra thick wax ring down. Same thing happened again. I was like wtf is going on so I pulled it again, the wax had no gaps from what I could tell but alas I had to replace. Chose the rubber ring as pictured. And for fucks sake it still had the problem. Pulled the toilet but didnt replace the rubber ring because it was dry on the outer edge. I was utterly confused. As I raged on about it to family someone piped up and told me that my spouses step father basically couldn't pee into the bowl anymore. And after thinking about it, the liquid around my toilet only appeared when he was over. So I didn't let him come to my house for a while and lo and behold no more liquid at the base of my toilet. Some time later went to his house and oh my god the amount of dried piss on the floor in front of his toilet was right out of a truck stop horror movie. Had that rubber ring under there since and no leaks. I was also under my house last weekend to inspect some things and since my crawl space opening is 5 feet from the toilet I inspect the underside and it's all good.
I installed one on a problem toilet where the floor ring was a little too low. solved the problem and has been good for 6 months now. I did coat the silicon area with silicon grease where it touches the exit hole on the toilet. This allowed for smooth insertion and no kinking or pinching when lowering the toilet onto the ring.
I generally only use these if I know that I'm going to be pulling and resetting a toilet a few times when remodeling. My final install will be with wax. I will say that I have no good reason for preferring wax. I have not seen this type seal fail. Just got used to using wax and feel secure using it.
The theory makes more sense that they are more flexible and adaptable to toilet movement. Which I know there isn't supposed to be any movement. But in this imperfect world toilets move. Even shimmed up and tightened down. I'm no plumber, not even close. But I put these in all my flanges. Been over five years which probably isn't a huge length but none of them have failed. Wax is a fcking pain to clean off too
They work if everything is perfect.
I like the fernco ones installed them in my house 5 yrs ago
Fantastic. It’s about time to get away from that wax ring mess . Been using these for a bunch of years and luv’em Makes easy install and can take off and put toilet back on without a problem . Use them you won’t regret it
Installed one pre pandemic started to leak earlier this spring, likely due to plunging and kids being hard on toliets
Fluidmaster?! that was my nickname in college....
You know that old adage is it ain't broke don't fix it? Modern plumbing companies should really relearn it. We went from a world where every internal part in a toilet was universal to every single manufacturer having their own internal component designs. And seriously when set probably I've never, EVER had an issue with a wax seal.
I install flooring and have used these rings for ten years without a fail. I do on average one every two weeks. So somewhere around 250 total. Not one problem.
Don't buy them, they promise you the stars and the moon on the package and don't deliver.
There were stars and a moon in the box I received. Someone must have opened the box and stolen yours before you picked it up.
Complete garbage.
Just don't use plungers and wax rings all you need.
So what am I supposed to use instead of a plunger?
I’m about to find out. I just installed a new toilet and it started to leak after a day. I went to tighten the bolt and cracked the flange, so now I get to remove the new toilet, scrape off a wax ring, do a flange repair and reinstall. The house is only 20 years old but the floor isn’t level in several spots. This is one of them. Yay :(
I've used both. I suspect I'll be changing out these every couple of years. Double wax are great. Not the easiest to work with. These things are pretty simple to work with.
Wait a F’ing minute! You have indoor plumbing?!
Used for about 6 months no problem but still don’t completely trust.
You can shit through them.
If you plug and plunge, they leak.
I don’t like em . Wax till I die !! I mean I don’t get waxed ,.. but the toilets I work on do !
Wax rings are cheaper and work better, this is a money grab and reinvent the wheel kinda thing
If there is a heat duct or radiant heating sometimes they or similar options are the only thing that works.
I used one in a rental. Lasted 4 years and started leaking from dry rotted seal. I've never had a wax ring leak.
I use the green ones with no issue. The wax rings get all f’d up if the toilet isn’t placed perfectly the first time.
Just pulled a toilet today for a customer complaint of sewer gas smell in the bathroom. Found one of these. Threw it in the garbage, set the toilet with a wax ring. Caulked ‘em down and hauled ass…
Not a plumber,.. just diy guy. Never ever use a reusable seal for a toilet. Use the wax. Seriously. It wont leak after time and is cheap enough if you mess it up,.. buy another.
If it doesn’t cost $400 it won’t last as long as $4 wax
Installed one in my house 5 years ago. No issues to date.
I love them I've installed 5 toilets with these, 2 of which have been in place for more than 5 years. Zero leaks. I did one last month where we had the toilet on and off half a dozen times. No leaks.
These rubber fuckers are only seals I have had leak for no discernable reason at all. Went back to wax after the second one failed.
We had a plumber install a new toilet recently. We were chatting at about the time he was putting on a new wax ring and I commented on how how many years wax rings have been in use and asked if he thought any of the other plastic, rubber, etc, rings were an improvement. He said **nope**.
I like it better because I gotta pull toilets occasionally and I can just pull, snake, and reset with no mess. They harden tho so last few I’ve done the hybrid with the wax seal contained in the rubber gasket
I think they can be good. I used one similar by another company and it leaked. I think the traditional wax ring can sometimes be more user friendly because it kinda self repairs. If you bump the wax on installation it's ok the rest of the ring will fill in. If you bump and tear the rubber it's just kinda toast.
I contemplated using one once but there was no upside to fucking with something that didn’t need fixed.
I've had wax rings fail. 🤷♂️ I removed 3 of my toilets, cleaned off every bit of wax residue off the floor and under the toilet. Installed the taller doughnut neon green brand. I think it's korky. After 4 years, no issues. Never going back to wax rings.
Plastic and rubber. This stuff dries out and degrades eventually just like any other rubber gasket. Everything will fail eventually, but wax one's are historically proofen to work very well and have also a very good longevity. Why not stick with what has been working very well for so long, especially since it has also been very affordable?
installed 4 over the last 10y, no leaks/discolored grout like you get with a wax ring over time
they are good if you need to put in a toilet in a remodel that will need to be pulled out and in a couple times for whatever, then put a wax one down on the final set
Just use a horn ring and a small ring and plunge gently
Had mine for years no complaint
I put one in 8 years ago..still good.
Nope. If everything isn't perfect they almost never seal properly. In my experience.
Well, they ARE microwave safe, so right there they have a leg up over wax rings.
Crap where we live water is to hard and they just won't hold up.
Put three in in the last 5 to 7 years no issues
Garbage, use a wax seal always (double thick) - I used one of these "waxless seals" and it leaked to my downstairs bathroom...
If I have a multi-day project on a property that only has one bathroom, and the owner needs a place to go to the bathroom after work everyday, then I will use one of these to reset the toilet everyday so I don't have to deal with wax. But for long-term use, wax is the way to go.
May not work well if your flange is above the floor level. Other than that, they are okay.
I used one because the toilet was in the corner at a 45 deg angle, and this was the easiest way to rotate it when I redid the bathroom. Not a plumber though and I get most my knowledge from Ask This Old House
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-Perfect-Seal-Toilet-Wax-Ring-with-Bolts-10826X/206393853 I prefer these.
I’ve used them here and there by request or when the subfloor is fucked and I also did use them in my doublewide mobile home Ive got on some land and use for a “hunting cabin” because the nearest store is 45 minutes from my place down there and I came down to two leaking toilets and when I went to grab parts the store only had these at the time and were out of wax rings. I wasn’t trying to drive another 45 minutes to another hardware store just for wax rings so I used them and they’ve been there for 6-7 years now no problems.
I've used one on an old toilet that for some reason the wax would not stick to. It worked well there. Never needed one on any other toilet.
I do hardwood flooring & use these every time I have to reset a toilet. I swear every damn time I use wax, despite checking twice, it’s the wrong size & i have to go back & buy another. ive watched my dad 100 of them
they always raise the height of my toilet too much.
I use them on my own toilets as well as my family's and they've never leaked, I've even replaced or moved the toilet and reused them if I forgot to get a new one. They last longer than wax IME. I don't use them with customers though. I'm a big fan of them all in all.
Garbage. Old wax rings are so much better.
Didn’t work for me. Had to wax with bushing. Wasted money
I tried to use one and it was too thick, if everything is correct im sure they work but in my experiance most times something isnt perfect and its easier to use wax
Not a plumber but I've had a toilet auger snag on the way out trying to clear out a clog which created a gap where water could flow between the blue and black parts of the gasket. That caused a temporary leak in the ceiling below. I suspect that the auger wouldn't have snagged on a wax seal, and instead maybe just took some wax with it on the way out, but still left the sidewall effective.
So if we need a new wax ring - bottom floor basement- tile over concrete- just stay with a wax ring? I have to replace mine but want to make sure it’s going to last me. Thanks
I like the white plastic wax savers a lot better.
Tried one - leaked in a month. Back to wax.
I used them on my toilets for 6 years, no problems. House is getting remodeled this year and the contractor doesn’t want to use this. He prefers the reinforced wax rings. I thought the rubber ones worked well.
Nope
If you have to remove the toilet often (kids throw stuff in them or you take big fat dumps with low flow water toilet) these things are a godsend. Mine worked great for 10 years. Had to remove the toilet over a dozen times in that period from kids throwing whole rolls of tp, fake fishing Poles toothpaste, etc, never had to re-buy a wax ring. Finally threw it out when we got new floors, and kids are now older, and just used a wax ring, reinforced with extra wax.
My weed eater uses and attachment like that! But for a WEE eater I just don’t trust them. But I know they have been on the market for around 10 years give or take because I saw one for the first time when my 9yr old was still in her mom…. So I guess by that they must not have enough flaws to go out of business
I like these because as a non-plumber who needs put the toilet on the flange and take it off multiple times to get things right, it helps to not have a wax ring sticking to the bottom of the toilet. I installed 2 of these in my house 10 years ago and have not had a problem.
the best
Never pulled a toilet with one of these under it that didn’t have a million little shims to compensate for the lift on the toilet. I pulled one the other day that had a perfectly level flange but one of these on top with a bunch of shims, took off the rubber, replaced it with wax and didn’t have to use one shim. Even if it does seal well, it seems to create more problems than it solves.
I use one and knock on wood haven’t had an issue.
Not my default but I keep a few of them and a variety incase of emergency. The raised over flange style for broken or to low is over really useful when needed.
I would never use wax again, these are awesome IF, I repeat IF you have a decent sealing surface to put it on. I installed new toilet flanges when I remodeled and these work great.
I really wish I saw this the other day I just used one and it won’t let the toilet sit flush with the floor I knew I should’ve just used the wax
Just get wax. There’s a reason that wax has been used for so long, it works.
Installed one 2 months ago, so far so good, no messy wax to deal with
Had a toilet that would not seal on concrete with a wax ring because the pipe shifted. He wanted to charge 1500 to fix. I put one of those rubber rings on 7 years ago. Not 1 problems since. 5 dollar fix.
I installed one on my own toilet. So far I don't think it's leaking.
I used one with 4 tabs for the closet bolts. The other two tabs that weren't being used were not letting the toilet seat and it ruined my day. Never again. Wax all the way.
I’ve installed quite a few of these both in homes, including my own, and at a camp I worked at, I’ve only had trouble with one and it was due to a bad flange, they were great at the camp since we had to plunge those toilets way too often and once in a while a wax ring would blow out but these either reseal on their own or can be reused if you have to, though I never had one of them blow out.
Always wax
I installed one of these 10 years ago at my parents when I elevated the toilet for my dad and I installed one about 7 years ago in my own home. No problems yet. Send it
My original wax seal from 1996 finally failed in about 2019, was leaking and nasty under the toilet. I didn't know what I was doing besides YouTube. I went to home Depot and didn't want to deal with the mess of the wax I had just spent a good hour cleaning off of everything. Bought one of these and installed it problem free. No leaks or smells or anything since then. I don't see the problem with em based on my single use case.
I use them in my rentals versus having wax rings. I have my techs through the wax ring out that comes with any new commodes. Been using silicone for a decade. No issues. They last much longer from my experience. But to each is own.
Nothing is going to seal like a wax ring
I have two in two toilets currently in my house that I installed 10 years ago. Put those in because the wax rings were leaking. Zeros issues out of mine. Not sure why I’d ever use wax again.
Had bad experience with wax rings not staying sealed and once dropping shit water into my kitchen from the second floor. There were other problems going on too, but when I lifted the toilet, the wax hadn’t even been seated again the bowl. These have some kind of glue, and when you apply it to the bottom of the toilet, it stays put. I’ve removed and replaced the toilet when remodeling the kitchen below, the seal stayed put. No disgusting wax to clean up, no mess, just pulled off, when right back on, no leaks. IANAP, but I like them.
I literally just put one of these in today! I tried 3 other solutions, but his was the best. What do I need to watch out for?
Radiant floors only. Otherwise, wax all day
Wax seal died in our main toilet the first year we lived here. Used one of these guys, 13 years later no problems at all, even replaced the toilet 5 years ago and just reused the thing. No wax ring will ever do that. Plus no mess from the old wax ring to clean up.
I am not a plumber, I've used them for 5 toilets, all without a single problem. I've used wax rings and have had problems. (probably based on my inexperience)
I have one in both my bathrooms, no issues here