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Cut corners on a toilet flange repair - now my bathroom smells like a swamp
I tried to save $15 by using a cheap wax ring from the dollar store instead of a proper reinforced one last Tuesday. By Friday morning the seal gave out and sewage gas was seeping up through the tiles. Has anyone else had a quick fix turn into a redo project?
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hugobarnes17d ago
Read something the other day about how those cheap wax rings are basically just paraffin with a bit of coloring, not real plumber's wax. No wonder they melt or crumble in like a week. You probably should have just spent the extra few bucks on a reinforced one with the rubber insert, those hold up way better even if the flange is a little warped. At least you caught it before the subfloor started rotting out. Plumber buddy of mine said he sees this exact thing all the time from people trying to save five dollars.
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morgan.charlie17d ago
Wow wait, they're literally just paraffin wax with food coloring?! I had no idea that was even a thing they could get away with selling! That's crazy because paraffin is basically candle wax, of course it's gonna melt or fall apart the second hot water hits it. I always thought plumber's wax was some special heavy duty compound, not hobby lobby candle supplies haha. So these companies are just straight up scamming people with cheap junk that fails and costs you way more in water damage later. That's honestly kind of infuriating because most folks buying wax rings probably don't know to check the ingredients or whatever. I'll definitely keep an eye out for those reinforced ones with the rubber insert now, thanks for the heads up!
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