How to remove a toilet: drain it, break the seal, lift it, and get rid of it
How to remove a toilet: drain it, break the seal, lift it, and get rid of it
By Ariel, last updated September 25, 2026.
Knowing how to remove a toilet is mostly knowing what order to do things in. In the right order an old two-piece comes out in 30-45 minutes with a wrench and a putty knife, and nothing spills. In the wrong order you get a bowl of water across the tile, a closet bolt that spins forever, and a sewer smell in the hallway. This guide covers the removal half of the job and stops at the bare flange. For what to buy, see installing a new toilet; for what goes back in, the 13-step install walkthrough.
Drain it, unbolt it, lift it straight up
Shut the angle stop, flush, and pull the last bowl water out with a wet/dry vac; a sponge and a cup do it slower. Disconnect the supply line. On a two-piece, take the tank off first: by TOTO’s own numbers that turns one 89 lb lift into a 32 lb lift and a 57 lb lift. Pry the bolt caps and back off the closet nuts; if they will not move, escalate in order: penetrating oil, hacksaw blade, nut splitter. Cut the caulk, rock the bowl to break the wax, lift straight up, and stuff a rag into the flange. Then read the flange; what you find there decides the next step. Disposal is set by your city. New York takes a toilet with regular trash, while San Francisco wants it drained and boxed for a scheduled pickup; Home Depot and Lowe’s will take the old one for a fee when they deliver or install the new one. Starting from no tools, you are buying a putty knife, penetrating oil, and a nut splitter, plus a hacksaw or a shop vac if you want them; check current pricing at Home Depot.
What you need, and what it costs
Most of this is in a kitchen drawer: an adjustable wrench, a flathead screwdriver, a utility knife, a bucket, a sponge or cup, old towels, gloves, and a flattened cardboard box to set the bowl on. Our plumbing tools for homeowners guide covers the rest. The buy list below is based on manufacturer specs and installer feedback; the hand tools are house-brand items whose shelf prices move week to week, so check current pricing at Home Depot.
A putty knife scrapes the wax, and a 1-1/2 inch flexible blade is the one that rides a flange without gouging it. Penetrating oil is the other must-have. PB B’laster Penetrant in the 11 oz can (part 16-PB) is what plumbers keep in the truck.
For seized closet bolts you want a 12 in. hacksaw such as the Stanley STHT20138, or its bare blade wrapped in a rag at one end for the gaps a frame cannot reach. If a rusted nut will not turn and there is no room to saw, a nut splitter cracks it without touching the porcelain; the GEARWRENCH 715D covers 7/16 to 3/4 in. nuts.
The optional tool is a small wet/dry vacuum such as the RIDGID WD4070 4-gallon.
Buy the install parts now so the bathroom is not out of service overnight: the Kohler wax ring and hardware kit (1023457) was $10.63 and a 12 in. supply line (1265114) was $8.62, both observed on kohler.com in September 2026 and both moving with promotions. Wax versus gasket is settled in how to replace a toilet wax ring.
Two-piece or one-piece: decide the lift before you start
A seam with bolt heads inside the tank means a two-piece that comes apart; one molded casting means a one-piece that leaves in a single lift.
TOTO’s spec sheet for the Drake two-piece (CST776CSG) lists the bowl at 57 lb and the tank at 32 lb shipping weight (TOTO Drake CST776CS(G) specification sheet). Separated, either piece is a solo carry. Kohler’s SKU data puts its Cimarron one-piece K-3619, a normal comfort-height toilet, at 113-122 lb shipping weight depending on the variant (Kohler K-3619 product detail). A one-piece is a two-person job, so lay cardboard along the path out and have the second person there before you break the seal. Parts of a toilet names every piece.
How to remove a toilet, step by step
Step 1: Shut off the water and drain the tank and bowl
Turn the angle stop behind the toilet clockwise until it stops. If there is no angle stop, or the handle turns and the water keeps coming, shut the main instead and work from there. Either way that valve gets replaced before the new toilet goes in, which is the job covered in our toilet supply line guide. Flush and hold the handle so the tank empties, then sponge the inch below the flapper into the bucket. Flushing does not empty the bowl, because the trap refills. Pull the paper filter out of the shop vac (toilet water ruins it), push the hose into the trap, and the bowl is dry in under a minute. Without one, bail with a cup and sponge the rest.
Step 2: Disconnect the supply line
Towel under the angle stop. Unscrew the nut at the tank first, then the one at the valve; a few ounces come out. Do not reuse the line. If the angle stop weeps once the line is off, or will not turn, that is a valve replacement and the first add-on on a plumber’s quote.
Step 3: Take the tank off (two-piece only)
This is the part of how to disassemble a toilet that saves your back. Inside the bottom of the tank are two or three bolt heads; under the bowl ledge are the nuts. Hold each head with the screwdriver, back the nut off with the wrench, and lift the tank straight up onto cardboard. The gasket between them is trash.
Step 4: Back off the closet nuts, and what to do when they will not move
Lever the two plastic caps off the base with the flathead. Under each is a nut on a bolt rising from the flange; turn it counterclockwise. On a toilet set in the last ten years both come off in a minute; on an older one, expect one of these. On a skirted toilet the bolts hide behind the skirt and every maker fastens them differently, so read our skirted toilet buying guide for where Kohler, TOTO, and American Standard put them before you start prying.
The nut turns and the bolt spins with it: the bolt has slipped its flange slot. Wedge the screwdriver under the nut for upward tension and try again; if it will not catch, saw it.
The nut is rusted solid: spray penetrating oil where the nut meets the bolt and wait 15 minutes, longer in an old bathroom. If the wrench still fails, slide the bare hacksaw blade between the nut and the porcelain and cut the bolt under the nut, with cardboard or painter’s tape against the glaze, because a skipping blade scratches porcelain instantly.
No room to saw: the nut splitter goes over the nut and you tighten its screw until the chisel cracks it, with the porcelain untouched. Do not hammer or pry against the bowl; a cracked bowl means you are now removing a toilet in pieces.
Step 5: Cut the caulk and break the wax seal
Run the utility knife around the whole base; a toilet caulked on three sides pivots instead of lifting. Straddle the bowl, grip the rim on both sides, and rock it until the wax lets go with a soft crunch. If it will not budge, the caulk is not fully cut or a bolt is still holding.
Step 6: Lift, then plug the drain immediately
Lift straight up so the bowl clears the bolts, back straight, load close. Set it on the cardboard tilted so the outlet points up, because the trap always holds a little water. A one-piece is the two-person lift, walked out along the cardboard.
Before you look at the flange, ball up a rag and push it into the open drain. The pipe now vents sewer gas into the room, and the smell arrives within a minute. Use a rag too big to be pushed down the pipe, and remember it when the new toilet goes in.
Step 7: Scrape the wax and read the flange
Old wax comes off with the putty knife and a lot of paper towels and goes in the trash, never the drain. Pull the old closet bolts out and scrape until the whole ring and both slots are visible.
What the flange is telling you
The flange is the ring screwed to the floor that the toilet bolts to. Oatey’s repair guide says it should sit “on top of or level with the finished floor” and lists cracks, breaks, rust, and corrosion as the things to look for (Oatey: how to repair or replace a toilet flange).
A crack through a bolt slot, or a broken-off section of ring, is what you find under a toilet that rocked for years: the bolt had nothing to pull against. A partial break takes a repair ring that sits over the old flange and gives the bolts a new slot; Oatey’s Fix-it ring is the standard part. A ring broken in several places gets replaced.
A flange top below the finished floor means someone tiled around it and set the toilet back on a wax ring that had to bridge the gap; those leak at the base within a year or two. The fix is a spacer kit stacked to floor level with silicone between layers, and Oatey’s Set-Rite spacers come in 1/8 to 3/4 in.
Rust that has opened the bolt slots, or flakes when you scrape it, means replacement; Oatey says a flange that is “badly damaged or corroded” gets replaced entirely, and that its spacer kit needs an existing flange “without defects and properly secured to the subfloor.”
A level, intact flange screwed firmly to the subfloor is the majority outcome on anything under 20 years old. Drop in new closet bolts and hand off to how to install a toilet. If the subfloor around it feels soft under your thumb, stop; rot is the one finding that reliably sends a DIY job to a contractor, and how much does toilet installation cost has the numbers for that call.
Toilet disposal: what your city actually allows
Where an old toilet goes depends on your city; two large cities show how far the rules diverge.
New York City
DSNY treats a toilet as a large item. Its large-items page says “Pick-up appointments are no longer offered” and residents “can set out up to 6 items at the curb per collection day,” on trash day (DSNY: large items). Its construction-debris page names “sinks, toilets, and tubs” as do-it-yourself materials collected free, while a hired contractor’s debris goes with a private carter (DSNY: construction debris). NYC311 gives the window, “between 6 PM and midnight the night before your collection day” (NYC311: bulk item disposal). Drain it, tape the lid to the tank, and set it beside the bins.
San Francisco
Recology schedules pickups instead. Residential accounts of five units or fewer get “two curbside Bulky Item Collections per year at no additional charge,” up to 10 items each. Toilets “must be completely drained of any liquid and left in a sanitary condition,” and each one “should be secured in a cardboard box and duct taped or wrapped with plastic and cloth” (Recology San Francisco: bulky items). Bathroom fixtures are on the accepted list; cast-iron tubs, and anything over 100 lb, are not (Recology: accepted bulky items). Read that limit before you box a one-piece: at 113 to 122 lb it is over the cap, so it has to come apart or go out the retailer haul-away route.
Everywhere else, search your city name plus “bulky item”; fees, annual limits, and the drained rule all vary.
Retailer haul-away
If a big-box store installs the replacement, the old toilet can leave with the installer. Both chains offer haul-away of the old unit as a paid add-on when a new toilet is delivered or installed through their service pages (Lowe’s toilet installation, Home Depot toilet installation). The fee and whether it is offered at all depend on your ZIP code, and both show up at checkout, so price it there rather than assuming it is included.
Recycling and donation
Porcelain crushes, and some cities crush it. Fort Collins, Colorado lists two drop-off sites for old toilets on its residential water-conservation page, one of them the streets department’s crushing facility (Fort Collins Utilities: residential water conservation). Habitat for Humanity ReStores resell used building materials, but each store sets its own list, so call first. A pre-1994 toilet is unlikely to be wanted, since EPA puts the oldest units at “as much as 6 gallons per flush” against today’s 1.28 gpf WaterSense label (EPA WaterSense: residential toilets).
What this guide will not tell you to do
Do not skip draining the bowl because it looks like a little water; a trap holds more than it looks, and it comes out sideways when you tilt the bowl.
Do not lift a one-piece alone. Kohler’s 113-122 lb figure is the number to keep in mind.
Do not put a grinder or an oscillating tool on a closet bolt before oil and a hand saw have failed. Chips hit a glaze that chips in a second.
Do not leave the drain open while you go to the store. The smell is the small problem; a wrench down the pipe is the large one.
Do not reuse the old wax, closet bolts, or supply line. All three are single-use in practice and about $19 together on kohler.com.
Do not carry a wet toilet to the curb; a crew can refuse a dripping one.
FAQ
How do you take a toilet out by yourself?
Take it out as two pieces: unbolt the tank before you touch the floor bolts. That leaves a tank of about 30 lb and a bowl of 55-60 lb on a standard two-piece. A one-piece cannot be split and runs well over 100 lb.
How do I drain a toilet completely before removing it?
Shut the angle stop, flush and hold the lever to empty the tank, and sponge the last inch out. For the bowl, a wet/dry vac with the paper filter removed pulls the trap dry in under a minute; without one, bail with a cup and finish with a sponge.
What if the closet bolts spin without loosening?
The bolt has slipped its flange slot. Wedge a screwdriver under the nut for upward tension and try the wrench again. If it does not catch, cut the bolt with a hacksaw blade slipped between the nut and the porcelain.
Can I put a toilet out with regular trash?
In New York, yes: DSNY collects up to six large items per trash day with no appointment, set out between 6 PM and midnight the night before. In San Francisco, no: Recology collects toilets through its scheduled bulky-item program, drained and boxed.
Sources & references
- DSNY: large items and construction debris
- NYC311: bulk item disposal
- Recology San Francisco: bulky items and accepted bulky items
- Fort Collins Utilities: residential water conservation
- Oatey: how to repair or replace a toilet flange
- TOTO Drake CST776CS(G) specification sheet
- Kohler K-3619 Cimarron product detail and kohler.com listing
- EPA WaterSense: residential toilets
- Family Handyman: how to remove a toilet
- B’laster: PB B’laster Penetrant, Stanley STHT20138 hacksaw, GEARWRENCH 715D nut cracker
- Lowe’s toilet installation and Home Depot toilet installation
