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My plumber laughed at me for using silicone caulk around the toilet base

He said I should have used a wax ring with a plastic horn instead, and after he showed me how the silicone traps moisture and rots the subfloor over time, am I the only one who never thought about that?
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2 Comments
charlie_stone72
Heard a contractor on a podcast say that silicone basically turns a toilet leak into a hidden time bomb.
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noahw53
noahw5310h agoMost Upvoted
Yeah, @charlie_stone72 that's exactly what my buddy who does bathroom remodels told me last year. He said he's pulled up toilets where the silicone looked fine on the outside but the plywood underneath was completely black and soft, like a sponge. The wax ring with the plastic horn lets you see a leak right away because water comes out around the base instead of soaking into the floor. He also mentioned that some building codes in certain areas actually require a wax ring with the horn for that reason. Makes total sense once you think about it, but I never did either.
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