Our toilet backed up and water started to leak from the base on the toilet. Looked online and found that most likely the backup caused water to leak out of the wax seal. Called home warranty and plumber came out. He was able to unclog the toilet. When I asked him if he was going to replace wax seal, he said no need. All we had to do was to put caulking around the base of the toilet in case the wax seal leaks in the future. He said the only reason the wax seal was leaking previously was because of the pressure caused by the backup. My question to this forum - if the wax seal leaked once does that mean it's broken and needs to be repaired or is there a chance that it's still ok? Thx



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The wax ring needs to be replaced. Your plumbing code will determine if it also needs to have caulk applied around the base of the toilet.

FYI most plumbers I know do not like working with home warranty services
It’s too much of a hassle to get a work order from them once the problem has been assessed
This is probably why the plumber did not change the wax ring, it would have been another hour back and forth on the phone between pricing and approval

yeah... the wax ring is leaking and needs to be replaced.

it is good practice to caulk around the toilet base. BUT you always leave a small area at the backside so water will show up if there is a leak.

That is a smart idea.