Should every able bodied man over 25 know how to replace one and re-seat a toilet?

Should I be capable of doing this after watching a few YT videos?

yes... pretty simple. Can be a little awkward. Just pull off the toilet and set it on a towel, scrape off the old, place the new and set the toilet back on.

If its truly just the wax seal that needs replaced and not the flange, etc. its pretty easy.

If there is a big gap between the flange and the top of the flooring, make sure and get an extra high wax seal.

Also there are some tricks to keep the water in the toilet from going everywhere, but most youtube how tos will show you those.

It's not difficult and YT will help. Biggest things are place the toilet on/in a large trash bag to prevent leaks going everywhere. Check the flange to make sure it's not rusted. Also, there are foam replacements for flanges that work well to and no mess compared to wax seals.

Shims too after reseating. Don't need to feel like you're going to slide off later on.

Done it once at my own home, Did it for my grandparents home. Only threw up once!

Toilet is severely clogged - plunged, snaked, and liquid plumbered it. Couldn't get the snake to go down the bend in the air trap.

Figure that popping it off would jus be the easiest way to unclog it.

Thoughts?

I use two regular wax seals stacked to make sure it's sealed.

Some plumbers stack 2 of the regular sized wax rings to ensure a good seal.

OnlyForNow said:

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Toilet is severely clogged - plunged, snaked, and liquid plumbered it. Couldn't get the snake to go down the bend in the air trap.

Figure that popping it off would jus be the easiest way to unclog it.

Thoughts?

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This is a real good way to make a giant mess. This should be last resort.

As stated, if you do decide to replace the wax seal, do not put the toilet down on the floor. There will be a bunch of old wax on the bottom that will make a big mess on your floor. Use one of the things suggested or some thick cardboard. Don't overtighten the nuts. You will crack the porcelain. I normally advise having a couple beers when doing home repair. Skip that on this job.

OnlyForNow said:

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Toilet is severely clogged - plunged, snaked, and liquid plumbered it. Couldn't get the snake to go down the bend in the air trap.

Figure that popping it off would jus be the easiest way to unclog it.

Thoughts?

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If ya got little kids you're liable to find Wooby in there.

6 year old swears nothing got put into the toilet besides crap and TP.

My advice after doing this multiple times is either use the extra large wax seal or two stacked wax seals compared to using the foam/rubber seals. The only two problems I have ever had is when using the foam rubber seals, one time the bathroom smelled like **** continuously and the other was a toilet that made a weird whistle noise when flushed, both were resolved by switching to wax seals. Buy a good metal scraper, a narrow plastic scraper to help remove the old wax and get some plastic toilet shims when you pick up your seal to use if needed when reinstalling the toilet. It's actually pretty easy to do the only issues you are likely to encounter are breaking the decorative plastic bolt covers on the toilet or bending a new bolt when trying to reset the toilet.

I had a Lab drop a tennis ball one time. Not sure how it got flushed but it did.

OnlyForNow said:

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6 year old swears nothing got put into the toilet besides crap and TP.

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And buy an extra so youll only have to go to the store three times instead of four.

Wife bought a specific toilet snake at Lowe's and that worked instead of taking it apart or using the smaller snake I already have.

Worth the $25 bucks.

OnlyForNow said:

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Should every able bodied man over 25 know how to replace one and re-seat a toilet?

Should I be capable of doing this after watching a few YT videos?

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If not, go directly to jail, turn in your man card and do not report back.

This is what I come for.

C@LAg said:

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yes.

it is simple, but possibly gross, work.

and does not take that long to complete.

just have everything you need around you - including trash can for disposal and stuff for cleaning up.

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One of those Home Depot paint stirers to scrape the wax off. Put the screws in the standing position angled a little bit toward you. Much easier without the tank. Pickup back of bowl and slide bowl over top of bolts if by yourself. It's much easier if you have someone down on the floor navigating for you. Tighten down nuts slightly then sit down on bowl to make good seal. Tighten until snug but not too tight. You can break the ceramic.

No one is going to comment about his small snake and that his wife had to go buy a larger snake?

OnlyForNow said:

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Toilet is severely clogged - plunged, snaked, and liquid plumbered it. Couldn't get the snake to go down the bend in the air trap.

Figure that popping it off would jus be the easiest way to unclog it.

Thoughts?

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Umm, if you still have that in the bowl you better be careful as it's extremely caustic.

The hardest part is after you pull the toilet you discovering you need to replace the mounting ring as well. Sometimes those are simple, sometimes not - depends on the condition and what pipe it is connected to (pvc, metal pipe with lead jacket, etc).

I like to dry fit the toilet, get it lined up, then use painters tape on the floor around the toilet. I put some painters tape on the front of the toilet at the floor and draw a line to line up. When setting I like to have two people, so I can sight down the floor. Then I just carefully sit on it to set the ring. I've done about 6 or so DIY, no leaks yet. I've used the thicker wax rings with the plastic guide embedded. Good luck.

jwoodmd said:

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OnlyForNow said:

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Toilet is severely clogged - plunged, snaked, and liquid plumbered it. Couldn't get the snake to go down the bend in the air trap.

Figure that popping it off would jus be the easiest way to unclog it.

Thoughts?

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Umm, if you still have that in the bowl you better be careful as it's extremely caustic.

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I think it says on the bottle to NOT use on toilets.

When using the snake, use the shortest possible length to help get it through the trap, I'm talking pretty much inside the bowl short with the handle

You may need new bolts if the old ones are corroded. If so, I recommend the Setfast no cut bolt kit.

AtlAg05 said:

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jwoodmd said:

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OnlyForNow said:

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Toilet is severely clogged - plunged, snaked, and liquid plumbered it. Couldn't get the snake to go down the bend in the air trap.

Figure that popping it off would jus be the easiest way to unclog it.

Thoughts?

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Umm, if you still have that in the bowl you better be careful as it's extremely caustic.

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I think it says on the bottle to NOT use on toilets.

When using the snake, use the shortest possible length to help get it through the trap, I'm talking pretty much inside the bowl short with the handle

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Yes, it does clearly say that. But, he's seems to have already done it so that genie is out of the bottle.

Pulling the toilet for a clog should be last resort.