How to Drain and Remove a Toilet Fast!
Last Updated on January 20, 2022 by toilethaven
Can I Remove a Toilet Myself?
Removing a toilet may look a hard task but it is a really easy one. You don’t have a to pay a plumber to do it for for your even without plumbing experience. 10 to 15 minutes is all you need.
To remove a toilet, turn off the shut off valve and drain the tank and the bowl. Use a wrench to loosen the mounting bolts or cut them off if corroded. Rock the toilet about to break the wax seal then lift it off and put it aside. Scrape off old wax and stuff a rug in the drain to prevent sewer gases from coming up.
A toilet is fastened to the floor using 2 bolts, one on each side. To remove it you will need to to loosen the bolts with a wrench then just lift it off. Before loosening and lifting off the toilet, make sure that you first drain the tank and the bowl.
Often, the toilet bolts are covered using plastic caps color-matched with the bowl. Pry them off with a flathead screwdriver.
There are 2 types of toilets. One-piece toilets and two-piece toilets. When removing a one-piece toilet the tank and bowl come out in one go while with a 2-piece toilet you may need to first remove the tank then the bowl.
The design of toilets also differ. There are skirted and non-skirted toilets. A skirted toilet has a concealed trapway and is a little harder to remove.
How to Remove a Toilet in 4 Steps
These are the steps involved in removing a toilet:
- Shut off water supply
- Drain the tank and bowl
- Remove the toilet bolts
- Lift off the toilet
Materials and Tools Needed to Remove a Toilet
- Adjustable wrench
- Empty bucket
- Sponge
- A mini-hacksaw
- Newspapers
- Old towel/rag
- Rubber gloves
- Putty knife
- Flathead screwdriver
Step 1: How to Turn Off Water to a Toilet
- To shut off the water supply to the toilet, look for the shut off valve. This valve is normally located on the rear wall of the toilet at the bottom. Turn this valve clockwise all the way.
- Some toilets use a push/pull valve instead. Pull the valve outwards to shut it off.
Step 2: How to Drain a Toilet
- Flush the toilet and hold the flushing lever down until all water has been flushed down.
- Remove the lid of the toilet tank and place it safely where it cannot fall off and break.
- Using the sponge, mop out any water that may have not been flushed down. Squeeze into the bucket. Mop until the tank is dry.
- Use the sponge to also remove the water retained at the bottom of the toilet bowl. This prevents it from splashing on the floor once you lift the toilet off. Remember to have your gloves on.
- There is a flexible water hose connected from the shut off valve to the toilet tank called the water supply line. Disconnect it from the tank.
- The water supply line is connected to most toilet tanks using a plastic coupling. Loosen it using your bare hand before attempting with a wrench. If the coupling is metallic though, you are free to use a wrench but gently.
Step 3: How to Remove Toilet Bolts
- Locate the two toilet bolts, one on each side of the bowl. Sometimes this bolts are covered with plastic caps color-matched with the bowl.
- If covered with plastic caps, use a flathead screwdriver to pry them off.
- Use the adjustable wrench or ratchet wrench to unscrew the nuts from the bolts. Sometimes the bolts and nuts are rusted and cannot be removed or will just pivot.
- If the bolts are rusted and just won’t loosen, use a mini-hacksaw (or a hacksaw blade only) to cut them off just below the nuts. Be careful however not to cut the toilet in case you intend to reinstall it.
Step 4: Lift off the Toilet
- If the nuts are out, hold the toilet by the bowl and rock it a little to break the wax ring seal and lift off .
- Lay the toilet on its side on the newspapers spread on the floor.
- Use the putty knife to scrape off the wax on top of the toilet flange and also from the bowl outlet. If you would like to also remove the toilet flange follow this guide.
- To prevent sewer gases coming up into the bathroom and entire house, plug off the drainpipe with an old rag or towel.
And that is how to remove a toilet. Please remember that toilets can weigh up to 100 pounds. If you are not capable of lifting that much weight on your own look for an extra pair of hands.
While removing a two-piece toilet, there is always the risk of the toilet tank cracking where it is joint to the bowl. If you intend to reinstall the toilet you are removing, it would probably be worthwhile to take your time to remove the tank and the bowl separately.
How to Remove a Toilet Tank
- Turn off the water shut off valve and flush the toilet.
- Remove the toilet tank lid.
- Mop up remaining water from the tank.
- The tank is mounted to the bowl using 2 and sometimes 3 bolts. Locate the tightening nuts from underneath the bowl and loosen them with a wrench.
- If the bolts are too corroded and won’t loosen, cut the nuts off with a hacksaw blade. A complete hacksaw will not fit in that tight spot.
- If instead the bolts are pivoting instead of loosening, you will need to back them off with a screwdriver from inside the toilet tank.
- Look at the bottom of the tank and you will see the bolt heads.
- Hold one nut with the adjustable wrench and use the screwdriver to unscrew the bolt. Do the same for the other bolt.
- When the two bolts are out, the tank is free and all you have to do is to lift it off and place it in a secure place.
- Proceed to remove the toilet bowl.
Removing the toilet tank then removing the bowl instead of removing the entire toilet at once takes more time but it is a safe method. It also gives you the chance to work alone. Lifting the bowl and the tank separately is way easier than lifting them both.
How to Remove a Skirted Toilet
A skirted toilet is a toilet with a concealed trapway. They are smooth and easy to clean. Removing a skirted toilet is a little different from a non-skirted toilet since the toilet bolts are inside the skirt.
If you look keenly, you will notice a hole on each side of the skirt covered in a color-matched cap. Remove these caps to access the inside of the skirt
Unlike a non-skirted toilet where the 2 bolts hooked to the toilet flange are the same ones securing the toilet bowl, a skirted toilet has a trapway installed on top of the flange. Two brackets are then attached to the trapway, one on each side.
The toilet is normally then installed on top of the trapway and two screws one on each side used to secure the toilet on the bracket and trapway.
To remove the skirted toilet, used a screw driver to unscrew the 2 screws and lift the toilet off. Proceed to remove the brackets and trapway
There are however some skirted toilet with the same installation process as the non-skirted ones. You use the small opening to access the bolts.